Torbay
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Borough of Torbay | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Geography | |
| Status: | Unitary, Borough |
| Region: | South West England |
| Ceremonial County: | Devon |
| Area: - Total |
Ranked 288th 62.88 km² |
| Admin. HQ: | Torquay |
| ONS code: | 00HH |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - Total (2005 est.) - Density |
Ranked 137th 132,800 2,112 / km² |
| Ethnicity: | 98.8% White |
| Politics | |
 Torbay Borough Council http://www.torbay.gov.uk/ |
|
| Leadership: | Mayor & Cabinet |
| Elected Mayor: | Nicholas Bye (Con) |
| Executive: | Liberal Democrats |
| MPs: | Adrian Sanders (LD, Torbay), Anthony Steen (Con, Totnes) |
Torbay (IPA: [tɔːˈbeɪ]) is an east-facing bay, at the western most end of Lyme Bay in the south-west of England, situated roughly midway between the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. Historically part of the county of Devon, Torbay was made a unitary authority on April 1, 1998. The tourist authorities call it the English Riviera, probably because of its mild climate.
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[edit] Geography
There are three main towns around the bay: Torquay in the north, Paignton in the centre, and Brixham in the south. These three have become connected over the years, swallowing up villages and towns such as St Marychurch, Cockington, Marldon, Churston Ferrers and Galmpton.
Torbay, as an administrative area, was created in 1968 as a County Borough, from the amalgamation of the Boroughs of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham. In October 2005 Torbay became the first area of the South West to have an elected Mayor with Nick Bye being the succesful candidate.
The southern limit of Torbay is Berry Head, and the northern limit is Hopes Nose, although Torquay itself stretches further north into Babbacombe Bay, where the popular beaches at Oddicombe and Babbacombe can be found; these are noted for their interesting Breccia cliffs.
Torbay is bordered by the South Hams to the south and west, and by Teignbridge to the north. Nearby towns include Totnes and Dartmouth in the South Hams Newton Abbot and Teignmouth in Teignbridge. Tor Bay itself is a fine natural harbour and home to a host of maritime events year round.
Because of the mild climate, Torbay Palm trees are a common sight along the coast. However, this 'palm' is in fact a Cabbage Tree (Cordyline australis), originating from New Zealand. These trees may be seen flourishing elsewhere in the UK, at least as far north as Pickering in North Yorkshire. It is suggested that the popularity of Cabbage Trees in Torbay is attributable to their first being introduced to the UK in that region; a street in the old part of Dartmouth named Anzac St suggests an early 20th century initiative to associate the town with New Zealand and Australia.
The area is host to a large number of European students learning English every summer.
The fishing port of Brixham is home to one of England and Wales most succesful fishing fleets and regularly lands more value than any UK port outside of Scotland.
[edit] Transport
Torbay has three stations on the National Rail network:
- Torre railway station is inland on the road from Torquay to Newton Abbot
- Torquay railway station is close to Torre Abbey Sands.
- Paignton railway station serves that town and links with the heritage railway via the Dart ferry to Kingswear.
These stations are now operated by First Great Western, as are some of the journeys that operates through them since Wessex trains was taken over by the company in 2006.
Torbay lacks direct motorway links and is served by the A380 road from Exeter.
This road route into Torbay from Newton Abbot is seen as problematic; as, especially in the summer, the comparative bottle-neck effect becomes apparent with congestion, particularly during commuter hours. Plans have continued apace to remedy the situation though no clear alternative have been sought as the current road passes by areas of outstanding natural beauty. [1]
The bus franchise is largely operated by Stagecoach Devon of the similarly named group, that operates a large share of the market in Torbay and the neighbouring towns of South Devon.
[edit] Famous people
Famous former residents of Torbay include authors Agatha Christie (who set many of her novels in a thinly disguised version of the borough), Charles Kingsley and Rudyard Kipling, the great industrialist and architect of the nearby Atmospheric railway, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and (allegedly) Barry Manilow. Prog-rock band Wishbone Ash, and supermodel Lily Cole also hail from the borough.
As you'd expect for one of the largest UK tourist resorts there is a host of attractions for the young and old from the clubs and pubs on offer in Paignton and Torquay, the growing number of fine restaurants such as "The Elephant", the Princess Theatre, wthe Quaywest water park, Kents Cavern, Paignton Zoo and Living Coasts nature attractions, Babbacombe Model Village and Occombe Farm. There are great nature walks and a host of Blue Flagged beaches to spend a hot summer's day on.
[edit] References
- ^ [www.torbay.gov.uk/ltp1_delivery_report_final_document.pdf Impact of the First Local Travel Plan on Torbay]. torbay.gov.uk. Retrieved on December 2, 2006.
