Our Summer Trip to England, The English Riviera

“It is like Italy”

Paignton is my home town and it is part of Torbay, also known as The English Riviera. Torquay and Brixham make up this popular seaside resort in Devon, South West England.

It has been over 2 years since I left the UK. I am now living near Dubai in United Arab Emirates (UAE). I am married to Sheryl, from Philippines. This is her first time to come to England, so I am wondering what she will think of my home country. We have a child, Robbie, who is 9 months old at the beginning of the journey.

I am a teacher and so I am lucky to have a 2 month summer holiday. We decide that we will spend the first 4 weeks of it in England before heading to Philippines for the remainder of the summer break.

The journey starts at Dubai on 7th July 2017.

All pictures taken using my Lenovo K5 Plus.

Things have changed at Dubai airport. Previously, it has been incredibly crowded with lots of queueing. There have been new systems put in place to speed this up, and it is certainly noticeable. There are no problems. It is the first trip for Robbie, so we are worried how he will be. Thankfully, he has taken it all in his stride. Like an experienced traveller. The whole journey, including the flight and coach to Torbay will take around 17 hours.

First, we arrive at Heathrow in the early morning. It is a big airport, and takes a long time to get the necessary transport to be able to get to the bus stop. I remember the first time I walked outside to the coach. This was at 8am and we could feel the cold breeze, and this was a July morning. I suppose I have got used to extreme hot temperatures.

We then take a coach trip where we can see the “forests” of England (remember, we live in the Middle East). It is beautiful though. The bus will drive through Taunton on the way, ironically we see a Filipino wedding on route. The journey now will only be 4 hours, as we will get off on the outskirts of Exeter. My Dad did will pick us up and drive us us to Paignton. When we arrive, we are tired, so the plan will be to walk to the sea, get Fish and Chips, have a beer and get an early night.

The next day we will go for a family barbeque, where Robbie can meet his auntie and cousins. The climate is really nice, sunny and pleasant, but cool enough to be able to sit in the garden and relax. At some point, we take a walk nearby, so that Sheryl can experience some of the landscape. “It is like Italy,” she says.

We are still recovering from the jet lag and climate difference. This takes a few days. In the meantime, we will walk into Paignton town centre, along the seafront. The landscape is stunning, Sheryl is loving it. I am glad, because there is a possibility that we will move back here one day. The trees, the sea, the buildings are all fascinating, like a dream. We make our way to Paignton Pier where we can just sit and play.

One of the things I love about Paignton, is the bike nights on Wednesday night. This is organised by a group called Bikers Make a Difference (BMAD). Bikes will descend along the promenade, each of them will pay a small entrance fee, that will go to charity. The atmosphere is friendly and there are lots of great bikes to look at. One gentleman was kind enough to take this picture of us. One of my favourites.

We take Sheryl to Brixham for the first time, and it is safe to say, that it definitely has that wow factor. It is a picturesque small town which has become the focus of a TV series called Fish Town. People come from all over the south west of England and beyond to buy fresh fish, caught by the deep sea fishermen. When you look at the houses, it can remind you of Spain or Italy.

I suppose the advantage of digital music over physical music, is its portability. I am still playing records (after a very long vinyl hiatus) and have quickly amassed a bit of a collection. This is not difficult, as there has been a vinyl revival. There are 2 shops that sell records in Paignton. One of them was here when I left 2 years ago; the other one is new. I manage to find my turntable and speaker, which gives us the opportunity to explore old and new music alike. I decide that I will take my record player back to the UAE and some records. However, it was becoming clear during the trip, that this would not be practical. The player made it, but the records are back in the attic for another day.

Music is an important part of British culture. Even in a place like Torbay, which is outside of a major city, will have host live music. Some bands that are writing their own songs, hoping to be successful or cover bands playing some older classics. There is certainly a lot of talent. I did manage to catch an amazing cover band called Jefferson Archive, playing classics from the 1970s era. I was also able to catch my friends from The Stone Angels, a young band but with an authentic sound. There are also other bands that are from the area such as Reigning Days and Moriaty. Brilliant bands.

The Stone Angels

A Devon Cream tea is a scone with clotted cream and jam. It is important to note that the cream goes on first, then then jam on top. The good people of Cornwall will disagree with this. They put the jam on first, then the cream on top. In my opinion this is wrong. I go with the proper method from Devon and it is fantastic. Also Ice Cream from the local area is unrivalled.

I think I'm going to bring this story to abrupt stop. There is so much to write about. Like Occombe Valley Park....

.....The Paignton Carnival.....

.....Cockington Village.....

......family barbecues.....

.....Agatha Christie.....

.....Walks by the sea.....

....Walks by the sea at night.....

.....Plymouth Hoe.....

!

....Steam Trains.....

Therefore, I could write a part 2, or just go off in sub sections. Probably the latter. There is a lot to do here, I lot of it free. Just walk out of the door and admire the wonderful scenery. The main objective though, was for Robbie to meet his family. And he did, and now they all miss him. We'll be back (or why not take a trip to Dubai). Until then, its a goodbye from me.