End of July visit to Torquay - Agatha Christie fan - Recommendations please.

Ooh lovely, MG55, a trip to Kent's Caverns would be my top to do, followed by a visit to Agatha Christie's beloved Greenway. It really is the most gorgeous setting , both house & gardens fascinating! There are bound to be trips there to book in advance I would have thought. Hope you have a wonderful time

Torquay can get very busy and this would be the start of the school holidays. It depends if you want somewhere with facilities etc within easy reach or a quieter country hotel. If you do stay in Torquay then Cockington Village is worth a visit.

Dartmouth is lovely and Agatha Christie's house is just across the river from there. There is the Dart Valley Railway with stops at various places including Greenway Halt, and boat trips up the River Dart too, Buckfast Abbey, Totnes etc.

I prefer that area to Torquay myself.

Do you have an English bus pass? We were in Torquay with friends, they could use their bus passes but we couldn't because ours were issued in Wales!

Burgh island

Setting for a couple of Poirot books

Thank you 🤩 Will check out Kent Caverns 👍🏻
Realised it was Greenway after I sent the message 🙈

The above was for keepcalm … 🤩
Thank you also to Callistemon213 for the suggestions about Dartmouth. Yes, we realised that it might be school holidays 🤣
Cockington Village sounds interesting.
We do have our English bus passes which is always helpful.
Yes Whitewavemark2, Burgh Island is a great idea 💡
Thank you all 💕

We are local to Torquay.
Greenway is wonderful and an absolute must but, if going by car, you need to book parking as it is very limited.
Torre Abbey on the seafront (English Heritage) has not long ago been refurbished and is extremely interesting. There is Agatha Christie information there.
Cockington Village, just a mile or so up the road (walkable from the seafront), is beautiful with a lovely pub, tearoom and shops. You can also ride in a horse and cart.
The Grand Hotel right on the front has a lovely old-fashioned lounge overlooking the sea and is open to the public for coffee, tea and cake.
The theatre, on the seafront, has good varied entertainment as does the theatre in nearby Babbacombe.
All in all, the seafront is lovely but don't bother with the town itself as it is run down.
Torquay is an excellent base for the whole area. Have a wonderful time.

Take the round trip- you can start anywhere- eg steam train from Paignton to Dartmouth, river trip from Dartmouth to Totnes, then open top bus back to Paignton. Break your journey anywhere., or go in the other direction. Plenty of parking at Totnes riverside.
Trains stop at Greenway. It was far too busy and crowded inside when we went.

Skydancer - thank you so much 🤩
Great suggestions and details.
I have always wanted to visit The Agatha Christie Festival in September but every year without fail, it has clashed with family events so, as I am down in Dorset in a few weeks time, I have decided on the last minute to visit the area 😅

Cabbie21

Take the round trip- you can start anywhere- eg steam train from Paignton to Dartmouth, river trip from Dartmouth to Totnes, then open top bus back to Paignton. Break your journey anywhere., or go in the other direction. Plenty of parking at Totnes riverside.
Trains stop at Greenway. It was far too busy and crowded inside when we went.

Gosh, great idea. thank you Cabbie21 👏🏼
I feel an itinerary writing session coming on 😀

Apparently The Grand Hotel was where Agatha stayed on her honeymoon in 1914, in what is known as the Agatha Christie Suite.

Yes that’s right. As I said before, if you ignore the shopping centre, Torquay is great. Torquay Museum houses The Agatha Christie Gallery - the only permanent exhibition in the UK. Before visiting you can read about it on the Museum’s excellent website.

Whitewavemark2

Burgh island

Setting for a couple of Poirot books

They won't serve you at the pub unless you are staying at the hotel or a local resident. It never used to be like that.
Some of my family couldn't have been more local but they'd moved!!

Thank you 👍🏻

Hi everyone!
I thought that I would update you to say that your suggestions were great. My sister and I had a lovely time.
We followed the Agatha Christie trail in Torquay by day and managed to visit both The Grand Hotel and The Imperial Hotel at night for cocktails.
We loved our visit to Greenway, which is a must for an Agatha Christie fans.
Whilst in Torquay, we visited the Hole in the Wall pub (built circa 1540) on a very hot Tuesday night, where the live music was excellent. Before that we had enjoyed a meal and a walk along the harbour.
We also liked the quieter charm of nearby Babbacombe and the picturesque fishing village of Brixham.
Four days was not long enough but we crammed in a lot.
It was very handy having our senior bus passes which we used every day. The bus service in Devon was very good.
Thank you one again for all the advice which really helped 👍🏻

Thanks for the update it is nice when a poster come back.

Callistemon213

Whitewavemark2

Burgh island

Setting for a couple of Poirot books

They won't serve you at the pub unless you are staying at the hotel or a local resident. It never used to be like that.
Some of my family couldn't have been more local but they'd moved!!

I meant the actual hotel. You could have lunch or afternoon tea etc.