Sathurday 25 July 2026. I have a break from medical appointments for a while so today we are on a coach which will take us to Torquay for a week.
Regular readers will remember that we took this same coach holiday in May 2024. We'll visit a few different places and take a few trips which will seem new to me because I went to sleep during them last time!
I'm still running that risk but nowhere near as bad. Meanwhile I can also enjoy the scenery from the coach window as we head down the M5 motorway towards Devon. Also, as can be seen from the top pic above, I have some snazzy new caps to wear in blue and beige!
Sunday 26 July 2026. Our driver has put on an unscheduled excursion to Brixham. Unfortunately the local authority has now decided that coaches have to discharge passengers and park quite a walk away down past the harbour. The legs are far better than the last time we did this holiday but I'm not up to a sprint yet and it was a full half-hour's walk in temperatures well into the 30s before we came to the harbour, having passed by the somewhat odorous charms of the local fish processing plant. Lovely...
We were glad that the first café to be seen had room to let us sit down and I thankfully wrapped myself around a cup of tea. Blimey is that me? I look like Methuselah's granddad...
Miss Franny meanwhile is making short work of a latte...
Brixham was making the most of the weather to bring out the blooms. The last time we were down in Torbay there was a water scare in Brixham.
The replica of Drake's Golden Hind No plan exist so we don't really know what it looked like exactly but someone at least wrote down the measurements so that although the other replica in London looks quite a bit different at least they are the same size front to back and across!
There were a few craft stalls along the edge of the harbour, one an old van with a somewhat less than swarthy old sea dog selling pirate-related carvings.
Monday 27 July 2026. Dartmouth. We went from Paignton on the steam train, took a ferry over the river and then a boat ride up the river and down again to where Ian was waiting with the coach. I managed to stay awake this time too...
One of Dartmouth's older buildings.
Tuesday 28 July 2026. We have a free day and get a bus to the point where the promenade sweeps off to the right. We stop at the first coffee shop - a Costa - sitting outside on the terrace. A woman comes to sit at the next table with a small dog. "She's a bit quiet..." explained it's owner, "she was bitten by another dog yesterday." But the old Burke animal magic tempts her to come for a reassuring pat and stroke. We walk a bit further then turn to walk back, with regular rest stops where a conversation can always be found.
Wednesday 29 July 2026. Our excursion today is to Plymouth, once a regular visiting place for work, but then I never got to take a boat ride along the coast and river mouth. Our tour is to sail from close to the famous Mayflower Steps, where the Pilgrims set sail in 1620 for the New World across the Atlantic.
Our boat squeezes into it's space on the jetty. And we settle down for a hour's sail.
Also that evening we went to an excellent variety show at Babbacombe Theatre, starring Steve Laister with comedy, music, magic and dancers providing a wonderful night's entertainment.
Thursday 30 July is another free day and Ian puts on a shorter excursion to Teignmouth and Dawlish. I'm afraid I didn't take any photos that day, but once back we did get on our usual table in the hotel garden which allowed me to finish this sketch of the side of the hotel.
Friday 31 July. We take a trip up the coast to Sidmouth. Now I had booked two holidays in quick succession, so that despite having to head home tomorrow, we will be coming back down to Sidmouth the following Saturday! However this particular weekend the famous Folk Festival takes place and there were many craft stalls along Sidmouth's elegant promenade and a fair number of singers of (it has to be said) various degrees of tunefulness...
We got back to Torquay and our hotel to see a procession of three or four traction engines trundling past the hotel.
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