"the outskirts of Torquay near the Kingskerswell end. Two bus routes operated by Stagecoach Devon pass through Torquay – the ""Hop 12"" number 12 service between Newton Abbot and Brixham, and the X46 service between Exeter and Paignton – while other routes operate within the town. ""For a summary of the 2001 census results on religion"", see below, Demographics Torquay has about 60 churches from a wide variety of Christian denominations. The largest congregations are those of St Matthias (Anglican) and Upton Vale Baptist church. Central Church (United Reformed Church) has a notable pierced screen wall facade. St Matthias's Church,"
"thanks to tight conservation measures. The borough of 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, and Newton Abbot and Teignmouth in Teignbridge. The southern limit of Tor Bay is Berry Head, and the northern limit is Hope's Nose, although Torquay itself stretches further north into Babbacombe Bay, where the beaches at Oddicombe, Babbacombe and Maidencombe can be found; these are noted for their interesting Breccia cliffs. Torbay's many geological features have led to the establishment of the English Riviera"
"project was subsequently taken on by Paignton Zoo Environmental Park and named Living Coasts. Other attractions are the Babbacombe Model Village, which opened in 1963; the Babbacombe Theatre which opened in 1939; the Princess Theatre. A large tethered balloon offering aerial views of the town operated for several years until it was destroyed by strong winds in January 2012. In the early years of British cinema, Torquay was home to two production companies, Cairns Torquay Films and Torquay And Paignton Photoplay Productions, who in 1920 produced a total of three films between them. Recently, Devon Films, based in Torquay, has"
"Navy anchored in the bay. Later, as the town's fame spread, it was popular with Victorian society. Renowned for its mild climate (for the U.K.), the town earned the nickname the English Riviera. The writer Agatha Christie was born in the town and lived there during her early years and there is an ""Agatha Christie Mile"", a tour with plaques dedicated to her life and work. Torquay's name originates in its being the quay of the ancient village of Torre. In turn, Torre takes its name from the tor, the extensively quarried remains of which can be seen by the"
"William III) landed in Brixham on 5 November 1688, during the Glorious Revolution, and issued his famous declaration """"The Liberties of England and The Protestant Religion I Will Maintain"""". Torquay's economy was, like Brixham's, initially based on fishing and agriculture, but in the early 19th century it began to develop into a fashionable seaside resort, initially frequented by members of the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars while the Royal Navy anchored in Tor Bay and later, as the town's fame spread, by Victorian society. The historic part of Paignton is inland: the low-lying coastal fringe was originally salt marsh."
"until an agreement was signed in September 2012 to develop the site into a hotel and retirement apartments. Other Singer legacies in Paignton include the Palace Hotel and the Inn on the Green, which were built as homes for Singer's sons Washington and Mortimer. Torquay Tramways were extended into Paignton in 1911 but the network was closed in 1934. As Paignton's population grew, it merged with the coastal villages of Goodrington and Preston. The town was governed by an urban district council until April 1968, when the creation of Torbay County Borough Council led to a single body covering Torquay,"
"of the station as may be convenient. A private siding was opened on the Torquay branch in 1866 for sand traffic from a nearby pit. It was removed in 1964. From the south, the trains of two different operators converge on Newton Abbot from Penzance and Plymouth on the main line, and from Paignton on the Riviera Line. The main line service to London Paddington station is operated by Great Western Railway, along with local trains to Exeter and Exmouth. The London services include the overnight Night Riviera and daytime Cornish Riviera Express to Penzance, and the midday Torbay Express"
"to build a new station at Edginswell. Torquay is connected to the UK motorway network by the A380, which traces the outskirts of the town as Hellevoetsluis Way and Hamelin Way, leading to the A38 and the M5 at Exeter. The A3022 branches from the A380, leading into Torquay as Riviera Way, to the seafront as Newton Road and then Avenue Road, and then on to Paignton as Torbay Road. The A379 runs past the harbour to Babbacombe and St Marychurch, and then north along the coast to Teignmouth. Work has now begun on constructing a new dual carriageway on"
"4 may be the oldest example of a modern human in Europe, dating back to 37,000–40,000 years ago. Roman soldiers are known to have visited Torquay during the period when Britain was a part of the Roman Empire, leaving offerings at a curious rock formation in Kent's Cavern, known as ""The Face"". Both Brixham and Paignton appear in the Domesday Book of 1086 and Paignton was given the status of a borough having a market and fair in 1294. The first major building in Torquay was Torre Abbey, a Premonstratensian monastery founded in 1196. William Prince of Orange (afterwards King"
"over the Bay in front of Paignton Sands in early June annually. The Paignton Festival (formerly known as the ""Torbay Carnival"") is over 100 years old and is held annually in late July. It features a Carnival Procession together with various entertainments and charity stalls on The Green. Regatta Week during early August is the peak holiday season. During this period there is a funfair on Paignton Green, along with a large fireworks display. Later in August is Children's Week, which includes a wide range of events and competitions. Paignton has a variety of holiday accommodation, complemented by numerous pubs,"
"to/from London Paddington station, including the Torbay Express. A few CrossCountry services also operate to/from Manchester Piccadilly via Birmingham New Street and . At other times passengers travelling change into main line trains at Newton Abbot. Torquay railway station Torquay railway station is on the Riviera Line and serves the seaside resort of Torquay, Devon, England. It is measured from . The station is operated by Great Western Railway. It is just a few yards from the sea at Torre Abbey Sands. A railway station serving Torquay had been opened by the broad gauge South Devon Railway on 18 December"
"importance, including the oldest fossil evidence of modern man in north west Europe. The story of the English Riviera Geopark is told through exhibitions about geology, fossils and archaeology including artefacts from Kents Cavern and other local archaeology. The museum has galleries dedicated to diverse topics such as the life of Agatha Christie, ancient Egypt, explorers and ecology. Another gallery displays replica historic farmhouse interiors. Living Coasts, a coastal zoo owned by Paignton Zoo, is built on Beacon Quay which has existed since 1680. In 1857 the Bath's Saloons complex was built on the promontory overlooking Beacon Cove. This included"
"the ""English Riviera"". The plots centre on the tense, rude and put-upon owner Basil Fawlty (Cleese), his bossy wife Sybil (Prunella Scales), the sensible chambermaid Polly (Booth) who often is the peacemaker and voice of reason, and the hapless and English-challenged Spanish waiter Manuel (Andrew Sachs), showing their attempts to run the hotel amidst farcical situations and an array of demanding and eccentric guests and tradespeople. In May 1970, the Monty Python comedy group stayed at the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay, Devon while filming on location in Paignton. John Cleese was fascinated with the behaviour of the owner, Donald Sinclair,"
"Riviera Line The Riviera Line is a local railway line that links the city of Exeter with the ""English Riviera"" resorts of Torbay in Devon, England. It is linked with the Exeter to Plymouth Line with which it shares the route along the South Devon sea wall. It is part of the Network Rail Route 12 ( to ). The line from Exeter to was opened by the South Devon Railway Company on 30 May 1846 and was extended to on 30 December 1846. After the company had completed its main line to Plymouth it opened a branch from Newton"
"a Conservative. Oliver was re-elected in 2015. For local elections the district is divided into 15 wards. The Council elects 36 councillors in elections held every four years. Since the Torbay Council election, 2015, the council has a Conservative majority. The composition as of 9 May 2015: There are three main towns around the marine inlet of Tor Bay: Torquay in the north, Paignton in the centre, and Brixham in the south. These have become connected over the years, swallowing up villages and towns such as St Marychurch, Cockington, Churston Ferrers and Galmpton, though the latter maintains a rural feel"
"is to Plymouth, the naval bases, Cornwall – it is a lifeline"". Repairs were finally completed at the beginning of April 2014, with the first train (the 05:34 Exeter St Davids to Paignton) running on schedule on the morning of Friday 4 April. Riviera Line The Riviera Line is a local railway line that links the city of Exeter with the ""English Riviera"" resorts of Torbay in Devon, England. It is linked with the Exeter to Plymouth Line with which it shares the route along the South Devon sea wall. It is part of the Network Rail Route 12 ("
"England multi-member Euro-constituency, which returned two UKIP, two Conservative, one Labour and one Green Party members. Paignton's economy relies extensively on tourism and the town is marketed as a location for family holidays. The main seafront area is dominated by Paignton Pier, a long structure opened in 1879. It was designed by George Soudon Bridgman, the local architect who also designed the original Oldway Mansion. The Festival Theatre, opened in 1967, was once a seafront theatre capable of staging large summer shows. In 1999 it was converted into a multiscreen cinema. The Torbay Air Show, launched in 2016, is held"
"mural has now been painted over due to the Grosvenor Hotel being refurbished by the new owners (Richardsons) in 2014. The Victorian mansion in Torquay where Agatha Christie was born and grew up, Ashfield in Barton Road, was demolished in 1961 to build an estate and extension for South Devon College. A blue plaque was unveiled in 2007 marking the spot. Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining"
"by jetski enthusiasts, while Saltern Cove is a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to its distinctive geology and its marine biology. Paignton railway station is situated close to the shops and a short walk from the beach along Torbay Road. Train services are mainly provided by Great Western Railway and mainly consist of approximately hourly services to Torquay, Newton Abbot, Exeter and Exmouth, with some longer distance services to Taunton, Bristol, Cardiff and London (Paddington). Arriva Cross Country provide services to Birmingham and Manchester. Queen's Park Station for the Dartmouth Steam Railway is adjacent to the main railway station"
"Paignton and Brixham. The unitary authority formed in 1998 now handles all local government for Torbay, which has a directly elected mayor and 36 councillors. They are elected every four years. The Mayor chooses nine councillors to form the Cabinet. The Chairman of Torbay Council wears the chain of office. The first elected mayor was Nick Bye, elected in 2005. In 2011, Gordon Oliver became the second. In May 2016, voters in Torbay chose to replace the system of a Mayor and cabinet with a council leader and cabinet in 2019. Most of Paignton is in the Torbay constituency. At"
"Disused railway stations on the Riviera Line The railway branch line from to in Devon, England, is unusual as a large majority of the stations are still open for traffic. Of the eleven stations, seven are still open so there are only four disused railway stations on this line, a much lower proportion than most similar lines that do not serve big cities. The South Devon Railway opened a branch line to Torquay (later ""Torre"") on 18 December 1848. This line was extended to by the Dartmouth and Torbay Railway on 2 August 1859, finally reaching Kingswear on 16 August"
"or they can go to South Devon College which is based in Long Road in Paignton on a new campus that fully opened in January 2006. Information taken from 2010 crime figures in Torbay (up to and including 31 December 2010) Torquay has two hospitals, the NHS-run Torbay Hospital which is situated on Newton Road, Shiphay and the private, non-emergency Mount Stuart Hospital on St. Vincent's Road, Torre. A number of sketches for the ""Monty Python's Flying Circus"" television show (1969-73) were filmed on location in and around both Torquay and neighbouring Paignton. It was while staying in Torquay at"
"'Torquay Central Station', and the current Torquay Railway Station be renamed 'Torquay Seafront' although as of 2016 this has not materialized. Torre railway station Torre railway station is a suburban station on the Riviera Line in Torquay, Devon, England. It is measured from . The station is managed by Great Western Railway but is not staffed; except for two trains in each direction per day, it is only served by local services, most notably as a commuter station for students for Torquay Girls' Grammar School and Torquay Boys' Grammar School, as many students commute from surrounding areas. A broad gauge"
"service on the Riviera Line from as far as , which would then act as a railhead for Brixham. It would also serve other housing developments in the area since the opening of the steam railway, and may require the doubling of that line between Paignton and Goodrington Sands. Although Brixham is no longer on the rail network, frequent buses taking 25 minutes connect Brixham with the national rail network at Paignton, where the bus station is conveniently situated opposite the rail station. From Paignton CrossCountry trains run daily direct services to Manchester (via Bristol and Birmingham). Great Western Railway"
"that a 15-part comedy documentary show filmed at Paignton Zoo, from the point of view of animals, will air in the summer of the same year. The series began airing on 15 August. Paignton Zoo Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, is a zoo in Paignton, Devon, England. The zoo is part of South West Environmental Parks Ltd which is owned by the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust (WWCT). It is a combined zoo and botanic garden that welcomes over half a million visitors a year. WWCT also runs Living Coasts in Torquay, Devon and Newquay Zoo in Newquay, Cornwall. All three are"
"in Torquay following a conference held by the BBC at the Imperial Hotel on the seafront. The EBU's most well-known production is probably the Eurovision Song Contest organised by its Eurovision Network. In the early twentyfirst century Torquay became better-known abroad, and received more foreign tourists, usually touring by car. It is also a major destination for foreign language students, who visit the town for the summer to learn English and see the sights of England. In October 2005, Torquay as part of Torbay chose its first directly-elected mayor, Nicholas Bye, under an electoral system which was later described as"
"Thames Riviera, rivalling the hotel in Maidenhead for the name, followed by ""The Palm Beach"" and ""The Casino"". The Riviera aspect is sometimes described in literature by the Council however is controversial among dissenters to the land use, almost wholly private housing, where Hampton's riverside is not open parkland – it is no longer endorsed by London's bus operator with a stop of that name, in the 2010s named after instead a long public meadow known as St Albans Riverside. A cannon in Roy Grove marks the Hampton end of the baseline measured in 1784 by General William Roy in"
"of Torquay and east of Geelong. It is surrounded by Corio Bay and the Outer Harbour to the north, Port Phillip to the north-east and east, The Rip to the south-east and Bass Strait to the south. The peninsula's eastern regions host several bays and islands such as The Rip, Lonsdale Bay, Swan Bay, Swan Island, Rabbit Island and various other small islands. The central and north-eastern regions host a gently undulating topography with no major rivers, mountains or significant landforms. The most distinct feature in the western region of the peninsula is the Barwon River which flows through a"
"elsewhere across the globe has left impressions on the geopark; the collision of Africa and Europe has been felt in the Geopark, leaving the bay criss-crossed with faults as a result of the huge pressures. English Riviera Geopark The English Riviera Geopark (ERG) in Torbay is one of eight Geoparks in the United Kingdom, and one of over eighty worldwide. It is the only urban Geopark, and was declared a Geopark on 16 September 2007. The Geopark covers 6,200 hectares of land and 4,100 hectares of sea bed. Geopark status was granted to Torbay on the grounds that the area"
"resort of Torquay, where it meets the A3022 road. The two road designations share the same physical road through the Torbay area, although only the A3022 is signed. At Paignton the two roads diverge, and the A379 follows a route through Goodrington before briefly rejoining the A3022 at Churston. From Churston, the A379 bypasses Kingswear before crossing the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway on a level crossing and reaching the Dartmouth Higher Ferry on the banks of the River Dart. This tolled vehicular ferry carries the road across the river and into the picturesque harbour town of Dartmouth. From here"
"English Riviera Geopark The English Riviera Geopark (ERG) in Torbay is one of eight Geoparks in the United Kingdom, and one of over eighty worldwide. It is the only urban Geopark, and was declared a Geopark on 16 September 2007. The Geopark covers 6,200 hectares of land and 4,100 hectares of sea bed. Geopark status was granted to Torbay on the grounds that the area has a varied geology covering several geological periods, which are exposed to the surface in many areas, and also that Torbay Council and other bodies have worked to promote the area's distinctive geology to the"
"Torbay, a website for local cultural organisations, creatives and artists to promote their work. Torquay has two commercial local radio stations: Heart Devon, which broadcasts from studios in Exeter, and The Breeze (formerly known as Palm 105.5), which has its studios in Lymington Road in Torquay. Hart Devon is owned by Global Radio, while The Breeze 10 owned by the London Media Company. Torquay is also home to the non-profit community radio station Riviera FM which has just completed its second RSL and is in the process of applying for a licence from Ofcom. BBC Radio Devon is the radio"
"the world's most famous surf companies have their home in Torquay, including Rip Curl and Quiksilver- all of which make up part of the Surf Coast Plaza, which provides shopping and eating, as well as the Surf World Museum. Torquay's population usually triples between January and end of February, when the school holidays end; the town also hosts end of year Schoolies week celebrations, joint with Lorne, Victoria's most active Schoolies destination. Torquay's local schools are Torquay Primary School (Torquay College), St. Therese Catholic Primary and Surf Coast Secondary College. Torquay Primary School was once located in the 'old town',"