Seems like a long time since I last posted. Have come back refreshed from a week in Devon. Lots of beautiful pictures to post, yet to be uploaded.
Lots to post, will do it bit by bit. Separate review of Hoburne Torbay though - merits one.
Last Aug, we went to Cornwall and stayed at the lovely Esplanade Hotel, Ive written about it on here.
Great time, fantastic hotel and most of all, stunning Cornwall - Fistral Beach and St Ives.
This year, decided on South Devon as a last minute break. Very very expensive, as was obvious for August. After much looking, I found a slightly less expensive priced caravan at Hoburne - will go into details separately :)
Lots to hear from friends about why stay in a caravan, go to a cottage, its nicer, Salcombe is much nicer than Torbay etc etc. Never mind, we'd already booked so went ahead.
First thing, Torbay, which includes Torquay, Paignton and Brixham was not as run down as reviews and friends suggested. Apart from the lovely sea views, each was different. Paignton is probably my best from the three, with a sandy beach (smallish), then a fantastic very big Geopark (?) play area for the children and then the main road leading to the high street with the usual arcades/amusements. If there is a next time, we are going to book one of the seafront hotels with a 1 min walk to the beach and the play area.
Next is Brixham, lovely little town - called a fishing village. No beach - we drove there once and then went by ferry from Torquay.
The ferry Torquay-Brixham is a must do, for £2 return for around a half hour trip each way. Fantastic views.
Torquay itself is better than I expected, not rundown, cheapest place to park is the Fleet Walk Shopping Centre, walking from most things. Bit strange to find a TK Maxx and Debenhams a few minutes from the seaside!
Berry Head off Brixham is stunning, with a clifftop view of Torbay, the Jurassic Coast and the sea on three sides. Its in the middle of nowhere, yet costs a pound and some to park, like all places in the area. There's a small visitor centre with a lovely volunteer who gave the children cannon balls to hold etc (remains of the Napoleonic Fort).
Last of all and the best bit of our week away was the crabbing at Stoke Gabriel - fantastic! H said it reminded him of crabbing at the river in Bardez in his childhood. The difference being in Goa you get to eat the crabs and here they need to be put back in. Its is a must must must do for anyone with children, or without. Much easier than fishing and there's the instant gratification of pulling up one or two little crabs up in the net in a couple of minutes. The equipment - wire, bait, net and bucket costs a few pounds. In my book its one of the best things to do with children ever.
My final observations -
The beaches in South Devon (and we went to a few) arent a patch on those in Cornwall, and do not compare to the long coastlines in Goa.
There is much less sand on the beaches ie they are littler.
More pebbled beaches than sandy ones.
Horrible traffic jams all along after the M5 (thought Cornwall was bad, this is the same)
Still had a good time and South Devon is lovely!
Lots to post, will do it bit by bit. Separate review of Hoburne Torbay though - merits one.
Last Aug, we went to Cornwall and stayed at the lovely Esplanade Hotel, Ive written about it on here.
Great time, fantastic hotel and most of all, stunning Cornwall - Fistral Beach and St Ives.
This year, decided on South Devon as a last minute break. Very very expensive, as was obvious for August. After much looking, I found a slightly less expensive priced caravan at Hoburne - will go into details separately :)
Lots to hear from friends about why stay in a caravan, go to a cottage, its nicer, Salcombe is much nicer than Torbay etc etc. Never mind, we'd already booked so went ahead.
First thing, Torbay, which includes Torquay, Paignton and Brixham was not as run down as reviews and friends suggested. Apart from the lovely sea views, each was different. Paignton is probably my best from the three, with a sandy beach (smallish), then a fantastic very big Geopark (?) play area for the children and then the main road leading to the high street with the usual arcades/amusements. If there is a next time, we are going to book one of the seafront hotels with a 1 min walk to the beach and the play area.
Next is Brixham, lovely little town - called a fishing village. No beach - we drove there once and then went by ferry from Torquay.
The ferry Torquay-Brixham is a must do, for £2 return for around a half hour trip each way. Fantastic views.
Torquay itself is better than I expected, not rundown, cheapest place to park is the Fleet Walk Shopping Centre, walking from most things. Bit strange to find a TK Maxx and Debenhams a few minutes from the seaside!
Berry Head off Brixham is stunning, with a clifftop view of Torbay, the Jurassic Coast and the sea on three sides. Its in the middle of nowhere, yet costs a pound and some to park, like all places in the area. There's a small visitor centre with a lovely volunteer who gave the children cannon balls to hold etc (remains of the Napoleonic Fort).
Last of all and the best bit of our week away was the crabbing at Stoke Gabriel - fantastic! H said it reminded him of crabbing at the river in Bardez in his childhood. The difference being in Goa you get to eat the crabs and here they need to be put back in. Its is a must must must do for anyone with children, or without. Much easier than fishing and there's the instant gratification of pulling up one or two little crabs up in the net in a couple of minutes. The equipment - wire, bait, net and bucket costs a few pounds. In my book its one of the best things to do with children ever.
My final observations -
The beaches in South Devon (and we went to a few) arent a patch on those in Cornwall, and do not compare to the long coastlines in Goa.
There is much less sand on the beaches ie they are littler.
More pebbled beaches than sandy ones.
Horrible traffic jams all along after the M5 (thought Cornwall was bad, this is the same)
Still had a good time and South Devon is lovely!
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