'Kiss me quick hats', candy floss, amusement arcades, the pier and a sandy beach with glorious views across the bay...Tor Bay that is!
Ten minutes on the train for us...or 3 hours by road!! You think I jest?!!
Well, maybe that's a slight exaggeration... but for us, getting to Torquay or Paignton, by car, from now until the late autumn , can be a nightmare.
Paignton has not altered much since I was a child, although sadly one or two of the more 'classy' shops have disappeared.
It's a typical seaside town with oodles of very tacky 'grock shops' (as we call them )... and lots of noise!
'Grocks' or 'Grockles' ...yes, our name for the holidaymakers!
For a good part of the year, we live alongside them... or learn to avoid them!
Torbay is a grock trap and we grumble like hell about them...but
we need them because the tourist industry is vital to South Devon .
So, on the plus side, it keeps many in employment.
On the not so plus side...it keeps our water rates high and our roads jam packed!
Living near a main line station is a bonus and we let the train take the strain whenever we can!
The train arrives right in the middle of Paignton town centre, so you are there in an instant and this means that you can make a very quick getaway when you have had enough ...which will probably be sooner rather than later!!
However, look beyond the grock goodies and you will see an interesting town with some lovely architecture. People tend to forget that when they are queueing for their ice creams or shoving their pennies into slot machines.
'Look up ' is my motto!
Paignton has a strange appeal.
I love these candy coloured houses...mostly B&B accommodation.
You can take a lovely walk from the station to the harbour and then back to the pier,
Overlooking the beach, is this imposing Victorian building with its impressive and distinctive doric columns and commanding view of the bay. It was built as a Gentlemen's Club in 1884 and today it is just that!
Pretty little touches dotted here and there.
A lovely bit of thatch ...above not below...I mean have you ever seen a thatched pier?!!! LOL
;-)
However, I really did quite enjoy our walk around Paignton and we ended up in a very pleasant tea shop on the Torbay Road.
A tea shop which had a rather unusual piece of history inside...
Love those pastel houses! I agree with your item about English in schools. We moved before ours went to school for that very reason. The school where they would have gone take the English speakers out of lessons to help the non English speakers one to one. So they then end up missing lessons to help those who cannot speak English! How can that possibly be right? My sister moved to France and guess what - she learnt the language. Is that really too much to ask?
ReplyDeleteThat is a lovely blog of Paignton! I thought you had perhaps gone there on Saturday! Those elegant buildings at the top end of Grockle Alley must've been the most elegant houses. My parents had a hotel on Paignton sea front in the 1960s, but it is now, I think, holiday apartments. The view from my bedroom was of the green and the pier!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first went to work, my office was in the end building where there are those candy-coloured hotels! So my walk from my parents' hotel to my place of work was but a couple of hundred yards, and with the same sea view!
Margaret P
I have always wanted to visit the Devon seashore. I LOVED Mousehole in Cornwall when we visited there around 10 years ago. Thank you, Sal, for posting these wonderful photos - the flower-fill boat is just beautiful! Cassandra ♥
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly about your sentiments on the current government.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a wonderful day in Paignton ... :0)
Shirl x
awwww yes i soooo agree with you i said to my friend last summer look at all these tacky shops in Paignton- i prefer a little more charity than plastic £1 shops and 3 in a row!...but the views, pier and beautiful buildings make it a real treat! i love the sand there between my toes. ive never been by train i must try it some time ;0)...actually i might go next week end as i havent been since last summer...looks so beautiful in the sun shine ;0)...love your blog it is full of delightful eye candy hehe x
ReplyDeleteMr C & I are planning a few days in your neck of the woods in July (the week after the Textiles Fair) so we can be Grockles too!
ReplyDeleteI know what it's like living in a tourist destination - we lived in Cape Town which is the holiday mecca of South Africa & we didn't go near a beach during the holiday season.
Jayne
Very pretty! Can't beat the seaside! Love the colours of the houses in your pictures!
ReplyDeleteWell, that was just fabulous! I feel like I've been on a fancy vacation to a far-away place. Your photos are just lovely. I especially adore the one of the boat filled with flowers. Excellent choice for a new header!
ReplyDeleteThere is another flower filled old boat at Shaldon, on the Torbay side of the River Teign.
ReplyDeleteMargaret P
I loved the photo of the pastel coloured houses with their canopies...... The poster at the end was brill too. :O)
ReplyDeleteI was there in 1976 - but it was in September, just when the weather broke after the long hot summer!!
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures Sal, I do the same in London, always looking up at the buildings whilst trying to dodge the other pedestrians!
ReplyDeleteLike the goodies in This and That too from yesterday.
I may have to come a grockling this year, you do such a good job of making everything look so appealing I want to see if for myself!
Take care
Sarah x
Lovely seaside photos! It has made me want to come and be a 'grockle' in your area again- haven't been to Paington since I was about 10 years old:)
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures of Paignton... you have painted a perfect picture of the place, and I know you are definitely not kidding about the time it takes to get from one place to another in the Bay in the summer... best to go by train! I took the train to Exmouth on Monday... fabulous journey... it's got to be one of the most scenic!
ReplyDeletexxx