Torquay
| Torquay | |||
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| Coordinates | 50 ° 28 ′ N , 3 ° 32 ′ W | ||
| OS National Grid | SX915655 | ||
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| Residents | 65,245 (as of 2011) | ||
| administration | |||
| Post town | TORQUAY | ||
| ZIP code section | TQ1-TQ3, TQ12 | ||
| prefix | 01803 | ||
| Part of the country | England | ||
| region | South West England | ||
| Shire county | Devon | ||
| District | Torbay | ||
Torquay [ ˌtɔːˈkiː ] is a city on the south coast of England , in the county of Devon on the "English Riviera". Torquay has been forming the independent administrative unit (Unitary Authority) Torbay on the western side of Lyme Bay in south-west England since 1997, together with Paignton and Brixham . The population of Torquay is 49,094 (as of 2011), Torbay has a total of about 131,000 inhabitants in 2011.
Cityscape
In the 19th century, Torquay became a popular coastal resort, famous for its healthy climate. Since the wind never comes from the north or west for geological reasons, the climate is very mild and by English standards quite dry and rarely foggy. At the beginning of the 19th century, people with respiratory diseases were sent to Torquay. With the construction of the railroad in 1844, Torquay became a medium-sized town. The Cary and Palk families in particular , after whom the streets Cary Parade and Palk Street in the port of Torquay are named today, created terraces and built bright, southern-looking houses on the steep slopes for Torquay's image: Torquay became also called " The English Montpellier " and " The English Naples " ("The English Naples "). Contrary to popular belief about England, the region is not rainy and is rarely foggy or cold. Rarely - and when there is - moderate frost in winter, many palm trees grow in the gardens and parks.
Torquay is, as the residents say, " built on seven hills ". In reality there are around 40: Ash Hill, Barton Hill, Braddons Hill, Bronshill, Broomhill, Crown Hill, Dairy Hill, Exe Hill, Giant Hill, Great Hill, Huxtable Hill, Lincombe Slopes, Livermead Hill, Locks Hill, Mincent Hill, Oak Hill, Oddicombe Beach Hill, Old Woods Hill, Parkhill, Pennys Hill, Petit Tor Hill, Reddenhill, Redgate Heights, Rosehill, Roundhill, Shedden Hill, Sherwell Hill, Stentiford Hill, Sunbury Hill, Thurlow Hill, Tor Hill, Trinity Hill, Upton Hill, Vane Hill, Walls Hill, Warren Hill, Watcombe Heights, Westhill and Windmill Hill.
Torquay was an important center for the preparation and execution of Operation Overlord , the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 during World War II .
Left panel
D-Day memorial plaque in Torquay Harbor
Board right
sons and daughters of the town
- Clive Baker (* 1942), racing car driver
- Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG (1821–1890), was born in Torquay or Barham House, Elstree, depending on the sources: African explorer, officer, consul, translator, orientalist and member of the Royal Geographical Society.
- Agatha Christie (1890–1976), writer , was born in Torquay. Therefore there are quite extensive tourist offers, so that all places can be visited where Agatha Christie lived and worked.
- Lily Cole (* 1987), model
- Peter Cook (1937-1995), comedian
- Roger Deakins (* 1949), cameraman
- Max Eastley (* 1944), sculptor and improvisation musician
- Percy Fawcett (1867– ~ 1925), explorer , adventurer and ethnologist (area: South America)
- Oliver Heaviside (1850–1925), physicist, died near Torquay
- Edward Hutton (1848-1923), officer
- Colin Lewis (born 1942), racing cyclist
- Lee Mears (born 1979), rugby union -Nationalspieler
- Phil Minton (* 1940), jazz musician
- Amelia Pidgeon (* 2001), actress
- John Renbourn (1944-2015), folk musician
- Isaac Merritt Singer (1811–1875), American entrepreneur and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of the sewing machine, is buried in Torquay. He lived in the neighboring village of Paignton . The Isaac Merritt pub on Torquay Road is named after him.
- John Henry George Lee (1864–1945), also called John 'Babbacombe' Lee or "The man they couldn't hang" (because he was supposed to be killed by hanging in 1884, which failed three times despite tests with dummies and sacks) - named after Babbacombe, the district of Torquay in which he lived.
- Rob Brown (* 1962), musician ( Autechre )
- Martin Turner (* 1947), founding member of the rock band Wishbone Ash
Attractions
- Babbacombe Model Village - a model village
- Bygones (Life-size Victorian Street) - full-size replica of a Victorian street
- Cockington Village, Cockington Court and Country Park - Located two and a half miles from downtown Torquay within the city limits, the former fishing and farming village of Cockington still has a recognizable Anglo-Saxon core. In addition to the restored, thatched-roof houses, the old blacksmith's shop, the 17th century manor and the Norman church are well worth seeing.
- Kents Cavern - a prehistoric cave
- Living Coasts - a zoo that specializes in aquatic animals
- Torre Abbey
beaches
There are small sandy beaches and steep cliffs in Torquay. The entire coast is developed for tourism and lined with hotels. The idyllic beaches of Oddicombe Beach and Babbacombe Beach face east and lie in the shade of the steep coast in the afternoons.
The beaches (from north to south):
- Maidencombe Beach
- Watcombe Beach
- Oddicombe Beach
- Babbacombe Beach
- Redgate Beach
- Anstey's Cove
- Meadfoot Beach
- Torre Abbey Sands
- Corbyn Sands
- Hollicombe Beach
hike
There are signs along the coast of the South Devon Coast Path from Torquay to Teignmouth or from Torquay via Paignton (as far as this is still along the road) to Brixham , from there to Dartmouth .
The John Musgrave Heritage Trail has been an inland hiking trail for several years now , which leads from Maidencombe through the countryside to Cockington.The next stage goes from there to Totnes , then through the valley of the Dart River to the ferry in Dittisham, from there as the last stage to Brixham or Kingswear.
Coast path south of Brixham
John Musgrave Heritage Path north of Torquay near Kinkerswell
View of Torbay from Great Hill on the John Musgrave Heritage Path
Sports
- At the 1948 Summer Olympics , Torquay was the venue for water sports .
- Torbay (the amalgamation of the municipalities of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham ) has applied for the 2012 Olympic Games as a training location.
- Torquay United plays in the Conference National , the fifth highest division of English football, for the 2014/15 season .
- In 2003 the snooker world ranking tournament European Open was held in Torquay.
- In 2002 the European Junior Championships in Bridge were held in Torquay.
traffic
Flight connections
From Germany, Torquay is relatively difficult to reach by plane, as there are no direct connections from Germany to the nearest airports Exeter (approx. 30 minutes by car) and Plymouth (approx. 50 minutes by car) from Torquay .
From Germany or Central Europe, we recommend arriving via Bristol or London Heathrow or alternatively from Amsterdam directly to Exeter . National Express ( National Express Group ) has direct bus services from Bristol and Heathrow airports . It is also possible to travel from Cologne / Bonn via Paris to Exeter.
Road links
Torquay can be reached from Exeter via the M5, A38 and A380.
Rail connections
There are two train stations, the Torquay Railway Station and the Torre Railway Station . From London Paddington there is a connection to Penzance , where you have to change in Newton Abbot to the local train to Paignton , which in turn connects Torquay to all stations in Exeter . But there are also a few direct connections to London and Manchester. There is also a local bus from Newton Abbot train station that goes directly to the city center.
Ferries
When the weather is nice, there is a ferry connection to Brixham (about half an hour's journey).
Twin towns of Torquay
Personalities
- Bill Northam (1905–1988), Australian sailor
- Laurent Whale (* 1960), French-British writer and translator
Gleneagles Hotel
Torquay was the venue for Fawlty Towers , a famous sitcom starring John Cleese and Prunella Scales that was made in the 1970s. For years, tourists visited the Hotel Gleneagles in Torquay, which Cleese inspired to the series; however, the show was filmed in Cambridge and Berkshire . After filming was finished, actress Scales bought and modernized the Gleneagles Hotel . In 2016/17 the hotel was converted into an apartment complex.
Irish writer Sean O'Casey lived here after 1927 until his death in September 1964.
Others
In the vicinity of Torquay (e.g. in addition to Torquay itself also in the districts of Newton Abbot and Dartmouth ) some Rosamunde Pilcher films were shot, which are occasionally broadcast on Sundays by ZDF. The film Black Ball was also shot in Torquay.
On February 12, 1950, the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) was founded at a conference . The goal was a network for the exchange of news films. Founding members were 23 broadcasters from Europe and the Mediterranean region .
Web links
- Torbay Council
- Torquay tourism homepage
- Tourism homepage about the "English Riviera"
- Link catalog on Torquay (English) at curlie.org (formerly DMOZ )
- Model Village
- Bygones
Individual evidence
- ↑ Torquay (Torbay, South West England, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information. Retrieved November 17, 2018 .
- ^ Torbay (Unitary District, South West England, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location. Retrieved November 17, 2018 .