Judy's Postcards: 2019

Dawlish and Dawlish Warren

On another day out on the buses we visited Dawlish and Dawlish Warrren.

Dawlish is a traditional seaside town, with a wonderful sandy beach. Alongside the beach there is a path that runs between the beach and the railway line. A significant section of this path was destroyed by the Beast of the East storm in 2014. The stone and concrete path was torn apart and the railway line ripped by the ferocious seas. Volunteers rebuilt the wall. You can walk all the way to Dawlish Warren.

The town itself is interesting. In the middle of the town there is a brook surrounded by lovely grass parkland which is home to the famous black swans who have resided there since the early 1900's.

We didnt walk all the way to Dawlish Warren, instead we hopped on the bus which wound it's way along the coast and through the Warren which is a beautiful nature reserve with a lovely sandy beach full of holidaymakers.

The bus ride there took us through Teignmouth. A very picturesque seaside town and fishing port.

Teignmouth

teignmouth

Us on the bus to Dawlish

Sea wall walk Dawlish to Dawlish Warren

The sea wall walk next to train line

Views of Teignmouth from the bus

Paignton

We travelled between Torquay and Paignton just about every day on the buses as the terminus there is a hub for the buses going to most other towns and villages in South Devon.

Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay. Paignton is a colorful traditional seaside resort with long stretches of sandy beach.

The pier is a charming landmark famed for its stunning views of Torbay.

From Paignton you can take the Round Robin trip to Dartmouth which consists of bus, boat across the river and steam train. We didnt do that on this trip as we have done that before.

Totnes

We also visited the lovely historic market town of Totnes located on the River Dart. It has a rather steep main street. The town is surrounded by breathtakingly beautiful countryside.

A trip to Totnes is not complete without a visit to the Brutus Stone, in Fore Street, set into the pavement. This stone is meant to mark the spot where Trojan Prince, Brutus, disembarked from his ship. As he stepped ashore on to the stone he said “Here I stand, and here I rest. The town shall be called Totnes”.

By the 12th Century Totnes had established its self as a market town and prospered throughout the medieval period.

Many historic buildings line the streets,such as the atmospheric Guildhall which has been the home of the town council for over 450 year and the Norman castle which overlooks the town. We visited the museum showcasing the towns historic past.

totnes Museum

Totnes Museum

River Dart

surrounding countryside

Totnes Castle

Totnes Main Street

Guildhall

Brixham

My favourite place was Brixham.

A stunningly beautiful harbour town with a working fishing fleet, one of the largest in the UK. The walk out along the breakwater is lovely and looking back to the harbour and the town from the end of walk is really beautiful.

We missed the famous fish market but we were there for the weekly produce market.

In the middle of the harbour is a replica of the Golden Hind, Sir Francis Drake's flagship. You can go aboard and explore the 5 decks of Tudor history.

For art lovers the town is full of art galleries featuring local and visiting artists. There is an artists corner on The Strand and you can watch artists at work. Brixham museum is packed full of exhibits from the towns cultural and maritime history.

The Golden Hind replica

Babbacomb

The first day we went to the pretty seaside village of Babbacombe. We went on the open top bus which gave us great views of the sea along the route.

We had great fish and chips at Hanbury's famous fish and chip shop.

Then we went on the cliff railway ie funicular to Oddicombe beach below. A few brave souls were in swimming. It was a lovely day, but not in our opinion swimming weather. There was an interesting museum about the cliff railway which was built in the 1800's.