We decided to have a weeks holiday in a rented apartment (behind the tree at top left) in Paignton, having missed the Probus holiday there last year.
On Saturday 13 November we broke our journey at Amesbury at a Toby Carvery and had roast beef which came with an enormous Yorkshire pudding.
Our ground floor apartment in Paignton had a small garden with table and chairs and great views. But it was too cold to sit outside, however we could still enjoy the view from indoors.
I cooked dinner on Saturday and Sunday and we went to the nearby Brewers Fayre on the beach below for Monday dinner.
On Tuesday we attempted to walk the coastal path to Brixham, whose lights we could see at night from our apartment, but the path was too steep and in poor condition so we finished the journey by taxi, getting there in a persistent drizzle so we had a fish‘n’chip lunch overlooking the harbour in the Brixham Fish Restaurant (below the pale blue building in the middle of photo, on left of the black building. We sat on the first floor by the windows overlooking the harbour)
Afterwards we walked around the harbour.
And along the mile long jetty,
which was used to embark troops and tanks.
On Wednesday we went to Torres Abbey in Torquay.
We lunched at the café by the gatehouse and toured the museum and art gallery in the mansion, now owned by the council.
The original abbey had been demolished in the Dissolution of Monasteries. In the grounds was a large glasshouse filled with tropical plants and a flowerbed with plants used in Agatha Christie novels. The most toxic were substituted by less dangerous varieties, and some that were illegal were not there, as the gardeners' sign explained, ‘we do not want to go to prison’.
Thursday we stayed in Paignton, walking along the beaches and cliff paths.
In the evening we went to the Harvester where they had just introduced their Festive Menu, from which we ordered the Christmas dinner with hand cut turkey with sage & onion-seasoned roast potatoes, a Cumberland pig in blanket, red cabbage, green vegetables, sprouts, a sage & onion stuffing ball, Yorkshire pudding, gravy & cranberry sauce.
The turkey was succulent and there was plenty of it. The red cabbage was too sweet to eat and the potatoes had a funny texture inside, but amazing for £12.49 - with unlimited salad bar and bread rolls
Friday we drove to Torquay to take a tour of Kents Cavern, once home to prehistoric man, bears and hyenas.
After a fascinating hour-long tour we had scones in their café, and after following the path through their Woodland Trail, we walked down to Anstey’s Cove which we had to ourselves most of the time.
As we couldn’t get a table at Harbour Light we had a fish‘n’chip takeaway from The Paignton Pier Chippy Co with a bottle of Stoneleigh NZ savvie from Tesco Express.
The F’n’C was superior to other chippies, freshly cooked to order and came with a sachet of tartare sauce and a giant wedge of lemon. The wine hit the button. We were glad we hadn’t gone to the nearby Brewers Fayre, and that we could enjoy our meal without ‘background’ music.
