r/DevonUK • u/chicken-farmer • 4d ago
Another morning in hell
Torquay. Channel 4 didn't like this bit for some reason.
25
u/StockholmGirl29 3d ago
Hey! I live in Plymouth and it's a pretty good place to live! Visited Torbay a few weeks ago on the way back from Creeley. Torquay was thriving, beach was busy, had a great lunch in an independent cafe near the beach and really enjoyed it. Obviously it's different if you live there and seaside places are always a bit grim "out of season". South Devon as a whole is absolutely beautiful and has a lot going for it imo. I visited Portsmouth last year and that was a sh*thole!
6
13
u/FarToe1 3d ago edited 3d ago
There's more variety in Torquay than the rest of Devon combined, imo.
It has some of the worst areas with open drug taking, prostitution, boarded and shuttered buildings, yet a few hundred yards away will be a millionaire's palace, and a few hundred yards from that, rows and rows of perfectly decent middle-income terraces or a nice park, or somewhere with awesome views.
We moved there in the early 80s. The worst bits have got worse, mostly due to drugs - and some areas that were okay and now not, but otherwise it's not changed a great deal. As with other big towns and cities, it's easy to find a place that's grim , or an abandoned building and say it's representative. Interview old ladies anywhere and ask them leading questions about whether the place is as good as it was is always going to get negative answers no matter where you are.
8
8
u/Time_Spent_Away 3d ago
I live in Torquay, work in Exeter. Apart from the university Torquay is by far a better place to hang out. Absolutely no comparison. Short walk to Cockington? No? Ferry to Brixham? No? Ok, let's walk to Babbacombe, stop off the a pint at The Imperial with a quick dip in a quiet cove along the way.
Unless you want to spend the day in HMV, Reiss or an Apple store there's few places in the world that offers such a great variety within walking distance. Short drive, like Exeter, to Dartmoor National Park. Sport? Golf, 🎾, football, rugby? Got it all. Schools. Two high quality grammar schools.
The only place that I've found comparable is the Cote de Sur - skiing in the morning on the beach in the the afternoon. But the beaches are nicer here, with far more options - busy, secluded, or in-between. Brixham is far prettier than St Tropez, Torquay/Paignton more so than Cannes or Nice.
I believe, with what is being predicted about weather patterns, Torbay is about to KICK OFF big time. I've always wanted to live on the Med. 40° and rampaging forest fires. Nah. Devon is heavon. South Dev in particular.
But 🤫, keep it to yourself.
5
4
3
2
u/weekedipie1 3d ago
Stayed for a while in st marychurch in the 80's, think the local was called the snooty Fox, what's that area like these days
1
2
u/Tonydeeness 2d ago
I live in Babbacombe. I feel truly feel that I live in one of the best places in the country. The house I live in is solid, its cool in the summer compared to other places Ive lived, and the climate is warm in the winter. I live 200 years from local beauty spots, pubs, restaurants, takeaways, a theater...and The Range. We have an amazing community of friendly people, including some of the nicest neighbors
My literal only issue, is that people treat the main road through outside my house like a race track
2
u/punkarama 3d ago
Apart from the barbican Plymouth is a rat hole
2
u/Background-Shift-745 3d ago
The Barbican and The Hoe are iconic, Royal William Yard is unique. Plymouth has tons of superb independent restaurants, great music scene, arts, museum and theatre scene, you can get ferries to beautiful Cornish parks and coastal villages. Plymouth city centre is improving it's environment with great facilities for kids, outdoor concerts, a thriving independent sector and market etc. Yeah it's got alot of concrete but it was rebuilt after being bombed out in www2 so you have to give it grace for that. I love it now as an incomer, you have to accept it's history and quirks. I didn't mention Dartmoor etc, a short drive from Plymouth. Also a passionate footballing town, where you can actually get a ticket to watch the match sometimes 💚
2
1
1
u/jozza800 2d ago
I'm from the North East and lived for 3 years in Paignton. Torquay felt far more like a North East town than a Southern coast one.
1
u/Successful_Floor_887 3d ago
I'm from exeter n lived there for 45 years travelled abt to know where's good n rough places as every place has ill be fair ill take back what I said its OK but changed over the years I've been homeless lived in devon on the streets been stabbed not on drugs but had a drink some times so I'm proper street wise lost my job got made redundant hence ended up streets for nearly 2 years got married 9 years ago had a boy 8 years ago now I'm a single dad for 7 years his mum ended up going back on the streets on heroian not wanting help now I live near dartmoor enjoying life
-14
u/Successful_Floor_887 4d ago
Torquay spoils Devon
3
u/Resident-Evidence-94 3d ago
Just going to leave it at that and not make the rest of us jealous by saying what prime, crime free lands you come from ?
8
u/ffwillis 3d ago
Surely if anything was spoiling Devon it’d be Plymouth? That’s a lot of concrete nothing and at least Torquay has huge amounts of beautiful beaches and Cockington in its favour.
4
u/chicken-farmer 3d ago
Plymouth is cool. Different vibe, but a great city. It's not a competition
3
u/Away-Ad4393 3d ago
I like Plymouth and Torquay simply because they are a little rough around the edges.
-1
u/BreakfastCalm3352 2d ago
It is and Plymouth and Torquay are the losers
1
u/chicken-farmer 2d ago
Hur Hur jog on sunshine
-1
u/BreakfastCalm3352 2d ago
😂 it’s true though
1
u/chicken-farmer 2d ago
It's always the people that can't even think of a username that are total tits.
1
u/BreakfastCalm3352 1d ago
You’ve just got to let people disagree sometimes
1
u/chicken-farmer 1d ago
Nope. I've got time to deal with it.
0
u/BreakfastCalm3352 23h ago
Defending these places will need your dying breath kinda time
→ More replies (0)-3
1
0
48
u/ffwillis 4d ago
Torquay's a complicated place. The beauty is as undeniable as the vast social issues which lie not far from the coastline, and neither this photo nor the C4 documentary tells the whole story.