The English Riviera - A Grey Day in Brixham

As I mentioned in the previous post, the three towns that reside on Torbay on the South-West coast of Devon, Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, enjoy being known as 'The English Riviera'.

Trust me. The French have nothing to fear, but nevertheless, the climate is relatively tropical compared to the rest of the UK, to such an extent that Torquay is famed for its tropical plants and palm trees. It seems that wherever I go, I can't escape bloody palm trees.

The place I used to enjoy visiting most as a nipper on holiday was Brixham, a small, traditional fishing town nestled into the cliffside. Cottages cling to the side of the cliffs with all their might, and tiny roads weave their way down perilously to the harbour.

It was always the least 'holidayish' of the three towns, but as a lover of boats, as well as trains, its lovely harbour is a marvellous place to wander around, looking at the working boats, as well as the small sailing boats that line up proudly in the marina.

Revisiting once more after all these years, it was almost exactly as I remembered it, perhaps slightly more gentrified, but still, that evocative scent of fish and chips and the ever-present squawking of seagulls filled the salty, sea air.

Sadly, however, the sun decided to have a day off, and the whole town was blanketed by a lifeless, grey sky that muted the colours of the brightly painted buildings. It didn't stop the tourists, though, who were out in force on that early Wednesday morning.

If you're wondering what that galleon is moored at the harbour, it's a replica of the Golden Hind, the ship that took Sir Francis Drake on his travels around the globe in the late sixteenth century.

Who's Sir Francis Drake?

If you're English, he was a brave explorer and sailor who was the first Brit to circumnavigate the globe. If you're from the Spanish-speaking world, he was a warmonger, plunderer, murderer and slave trader. He was also listed in Forbes as the second-top earning pirate in history!

This replica of his most notorious charge has been here since its completion in 1988, replacing a previous replica that was in the same location since 1963. However, it sank in 1988 while under tow on a voyage to Dartmouth for restoration. More about Dartmouth in a later post! In addition to being a museum, it serves as an event space and an educational centre for local schools.
The use of the word 'replica' is probably a little loose, as it's a lot smaller than the original and can't actually sail, being based upon a steel barge! Read more about it here

Despite the leaden skies, the streets were quite busy even at ten o'clock in the morning, and the cafes and ice cream shops were already doing a great trade. I was impressed at how clean the town was, and the various flower baskets really brightened the place up.

The flags of the Royal National Lifeboat Association (RNLI) were fluttering proudly in the sea breeze.

The lifeboats of the RNLI have been saving mariners around the coast of Britain since it was founded in 1824 by a group of volunteers who had been rescuing people around the Isle of Wight for many years.

Even today, it is a charity organisation whose lifeboat crews are made up from mainly volunteers.

The statue you see is of King William lll of Orange who landed here on November 5th 1688 to attempt to take the throne from King Charles ll. This was exactly 83 years after Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up Parliament and unseat King James the first. The 17th century seems like an exciting time to have lived through!

This cafe, bar was stunningly decorated. So much so, it's going to get its own post later.

I loved the fact that down on the harbourside, there were almost no new buildings, and even the heavily renovated ones, such as the Old Market House, had been sympathetically updated whilst keeping their original form and features.

Many buildings had amazing murals painted onto them, which all looked fresh and recently completed. They were all very tasteful and added to the atmosphere and ambience rather than being a tacky distraction.

So perhaps not all the 'art' was as tastefully done as the rest...

...but the refurbishment of the old Cooperative Society building, which dates back over 150 years, is superb. I'd hate to imagine how much the apartment on the top floor would cost to buy.

Meanwhile, on the harbourside, many kids were out in force with their parents 'crabbing'. Even as a kid, I could never understand the attraction of standing with a string and hook attached to a bit of bread, waiting for a tiny shore crab to grab hold of it and allow itself to get hauled up to ground level before being dumped in a bucket and being thrown back in again. The same old crabs must get hauled out on a daily basis before being dumped back into the water. Evolution doesnt seem to apply to crabs. You'd think they would have worked out what bright orange string means by now, unless they actually simply enjoy the crab rollercoaster ride!

I enjoyed a few minutes looking at the sailing boats. The matching pair to the fore are Westerly Centaurs, probably the most popular sailing boats built in the UK from the 1960's until the 1990's. Easy to find on sale from as little as six-grand. Despite their diminuative 26ft, examples of these yachts have crossed oceans and even done circumnavigations of the globe. Soon...

This is a panoramic view of the inner harbour which almost completely drains at high-tide. The deep-water outer harbour, which I didn't have time to go and see is home to a Marina for the larger leisure craft and one of Englands largest remaining fishing fleets.

A trawler and a smaller fishing boat moored to the quayside awaiting their next adventure on the high seas. Sorry about the rogue mast photobombing my picture!

The little 18 foot Hurley in the middle of this picture was for sale at a very reasonable £2.5K but just a little smaller than what I'm looking for but I do know of a young fella with only one eye who took one of these boats on an incredible thirty-five day voyage across the Atlantic!
Watch his adventures here

I guess thats about it for now, apologies once more for the drab photos, I could have asked AI to recreate them on a sunnier day but it is what it is!

You may notice a nautical theme running through the next few posts, there is always method in my madness!

Thanks so much for droipping by. @commentrewarder has been activated (as long as it doesnt run out of cash again!) and I've pinned the exact location to the ever wonderful @worldmappin .

Best wishes to all and I hope that everyone is having a great week.

@nathen007