Torquay

Prepare

Bring your plastic spade for building sandcastles on the beach, an umbrella for the odd summer shower and flat shoes for walking around town.

Torquay Year

Enjoy the weekly Wednesday Bike Night parade along the front in Paignton from the end of May to September. Join in all the fun of the fair for a week-long shindig at the end of July when Carnival comes to Torbay. Get nautical at regattas in Paignton and Brixham during August, and see the Tall Ships Race in September. Find your inner muse at the Torbay Poetry Festival in October.

Public Holidays

New Year's Day (1 Jan), Good Friday (Mar/Apr), Easter Monday (Mar/Apr), Early May Bank Holiday, Spring Bank Holiday (May), Summer Bank Holiday (Aug), Christmas Day (25 Dec), Boxing Day (26 Dec).

Weather

Campers, retirees and gardeners have long been attracted to this corner of the UK for its mild climate. Winter temperatures rarely dip below freezing, and palms grow happily along the beachfront. Rainfall hits an average of 122mm annually, mostly falling from December to February, although showers are common in summer. In summer there are long hours of sunshine, with temperatures hovering around 23ºC.

Electricity

230V AC, 50 Hz, three-pin plugs are standard.

Dialling Code

+44 (national), (0) 1803 + six-figure number (Torquay).

Torquay Tourist Info

The English Riviera tourism website

Beaches

Choose from much-vaunted Blue-Flag beaches, pebble-strewn coves and wide stretches of soft yellow sand.

Secluded

Step north of the town centre to find peace and quiet on the beach. Clamber down the cliff paths to Watcombe and Maidencombe beaches, both crescents of shingle that you may well have to yourself. Find the tranquil little shingle speck of Corbyn Sands, overlooked by parkland at Corbyn Head.

Sporty

Watch the powerboats whiz across the waves from Torquay Marina and hire a sailing dinghy to gently follow suit. Hire windsurfing equipment, water skis, canoes and jet skis on Torre Abbey Sands or Meadfoot. Scuba dive at sites scattered around circular Torbay or join the fishermen who congregate on the breakwater at Babbacombe Beach.

Family

Throw frisbees and run around on central Torre Abbey Sands, where the beach slopes gently into the sea for safe swimming. Splash around in crab-filled pools at rocky Anstey's Cove or take the steep railway down the cliffs to Oddicombe Beach.

Wet Weather

Mix with the yachteratti over lunch-time drinks in the bars and cafés of buzzing Torquay Marina. Gaze through green eyes at the moored luxury yachts and gin palaces and then seek refuge in the Belgrave Hotel for a scrumptious cream tea.

Fit In

Sport bikinis, surfer shorts and wrap-around sunglasses on the beach. Take a waterproof in case of showers, a windbreak to counteract springtime breezes and jelly sandals for youngsters so they can paddle in the rock pools.

Nightlife

Dance the night away with teenage hordes, belly laugh at a comedian or sip a cocktail or two in an upmarket marina bar.

See a show: Around Torquay

See a classical concert, pantomime or West End spectacular at Torquay's Princess Theatre. Book tickets at Babbacombe Theatre for laughs and groans at good old-fashioned variety shows, or the Little Theatre for a varied programme of drama and musicals.

Full on: Waterfront

Torquay's elegant seafront lights up like a neon beacon when the sun goes down. Café-hop and bar-crawl among a multitude of brassy chain pubs, tiny watering holes and live-music venues such as Café Mambo. Later, join the hordes in Bohemia Nightclub for big-name DJs and The Venue for late-night hip-hop.

Chilled: Brixham

Escape the Torquay throng in photogenic little Brixham. Wander the habourfront, try a fishy snack from one of myriad stalls and see local folk bands playing live in the summer. Sample a couple of pints of cider in one of the cosy little pubs in the cobbled backstreets.

Select: Torquay Marina

Hobnob with sea dogs in the snazzy cocktail bars and late-opening cafés and restaurants of the Marina.

Nightlife Tips

Clubs in Torquay stay open until as late as 3am at the weekend. In the summer they are heaving as tribes of youngsters pile in off crowded streets. Most clubs are informal in dress style but beachwear is frowned upon.

Drinks of Choice

The throngs of teenagers massing in the streets on weekend evenings go for lagers in cans. Clubbers throw back vodka and Red Bull for the sugar rush so they can dance the night away. Old-timers can try a half pint or two of strong local (and oddly orange) cider.

Content provided by Frommer's Unlimited © 2009, Whatsonwhen Limited.