Torbay
Torbay is an east-facing bay, at the western most end of
Lyme Bay in the south-west of
England, situated roughly midway between the cities of
Exeter and
Plymouth. Historically part of the county of
Devon, Torbay was made a unitary authority on April 1, 1998. The tourist authorities call it the
English Riviera, probably because of its mild climate.
Encyclopedia
| Borough of Torbay |
|---|
|
| Geography |
|---|
| Status: | Unitary, Borough |
| Region: | South West England |
| Ceremonial County: | Devon |
Area:
- Total | Ranked 288th
62.88 kmē |
| Admin. HQ: | Torquay |
| ONS code: | 00HH |
| Demographics |
|---|
Population:
- Total
- Density | Ranked
/ kmē |
| Ethnicity: | 98.8% White |
| Politics |
|---|
Torbay Borough Council
http://www.torbay.gov.uk/ |
| Leadership: | Mayor & Cabinet |
| Elected Mayor: | Nicholas Bye |
| Executive: | |
| MPs: | Adrian Sanders , Anthony Steen |
Torbay is an east-facing bay, at the western most end of
Lyme Bay in the south-west of
England, situated roughly midway between the cities of
Exeter and
Plymouth. Historically part of the county of
Devon, Torbay was made a unitary authority on April 1, 1998. The tourist authorities call it the
English Riviera, probably because of its mild climate.
Geography
There are three main towns around the bay:
Torquay in the north,
Paignton in the centre, and
Brixham in the south. These three have become connected over the years, swallowing up villages and towns such as St Marychurch,
Cockington, Marldon, Churston Ferrers and Galmpton.
Torbay, as an administrative area, was created in 1968 as a
County Borough, from the amalgamation of the
Boroughs of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham.
The southern limit of Torbay is
Berry Head, and the northern limit is Hopes Nose, although Torquay itself stretches further north into Babbacombe Bay, where the popular beaches at Oddicombe and Babbacombe can be found; these are noted for their interesting
Breccia cliffs.
Torbay is bordered by the
South Hams to the south and west, and by
Teignbridge to the north. Nearby towns include
Totnes,
Newton Abbot,
Teignmouth and
Exeter.
Because of the mild climate, Torbay Palm trees are a common sight along the coast. However, this 'palm' is in fact a Cabbage Tree , originating from New Zealand.
The area is host to a large number of
European students learning
English every summer.
Transport
Torbay has three stations on the
National Rail network:
Torbay lacks
motorway links and is served by the A380 road from
Exeter.
Economy
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Torbay at current basic prices by the
Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
| Year | | | | |
|---|
| 1995 | 1,151 | 3 | 305 | 843 |
| 2000 | 1,241 | 4 | 408 | 829 |
| 2003 | 1,309 | 6 | 227 | 1,076 |
includes hunting and forestry
includes energy and construction
includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
Famous people
Famous former residents of Torbay include authors
Agatha Christie ,
Charles Kingsley and
Rudyard Kipling, the great industrialist and architect of the nearby
Atmospheric railway,
Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Barry Manilow. Prog-rock band
Wishbone Ash, and supermodel Lily Cole also hail from the town.
See also
...
External links
