Basil was right. The view from Torquay is indeed Torquay.

We didn't see the Sydney Opera House or the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and definitely no herds of wildebeest. We did, however, see lots of gorillas (life-size models - there was a town-wide art installation type thing).

We set off quite early in the morning and came to a small Dorset village called Morecombelake at 0901. This is a great time to reach a small Dorset village called Morecombelake because this is where Dorset Knobs are made* and the shop opens at 0900.

*Actually, they aren't made here any more but the shop floor is where the factory used to be.
"Didn't the factory used to be here?"
"Yes, it moved to Bridport about six years ago"
"Oh. I was thinking more like 40 years ago"

I can also remember how you could wander round the factory and see what was going on but apparently you're not allowed to do that any more.

I suggested we play "pub legs" during the journey. 200 yards later we passed The Hare And Hounds on CGF's side, so that was a pretty silly suggestion on my part!

Accommodation was lovely - a small cottage (converted from a hay loft), about a mile from Torquay sea front, and very secluded. You can hear owls at night. I'll happily give details for any couples wanting a break.

We did a fair bit of walking. CGF thinks that I purposely parked in the car park furthest away, but this wasn't the case. Not even when I managed to park in the wrong town! (Ok, a bit of an exaggeration. If you know Torbay you will understand that Preston isn't that far from Paignton. If you don't know Torbay, look at a map)

There is a big wheel in Torquay - bigger than a fairground Ferris wheel; smaller than the London Eye. We went on that one evening for some views of Torbay.

There was also a regatta in Paignton (a bit of an odd regatta - it seemed to be devoid of boats). One evening we happened to sit by the sea front just in time to see the firework display across the bay. It was a good display too and probably lasted about 20 minutes.

The House of Marbles at Bovey Tracy is worth a visit. It's free entry and, apart from amazing trompe l'oeil murals, has some amazing marble runs. One takes up an entire wall and a bit more.

We went to the Riverford Farm Restaurant for Sunday lunch. It was absolutely fantastic. This is top of the "you really must go here if you visit south Devon" list. In fact, it is more "you must visit South Devon so you can go here". It's easily one of the best restaurant meals I have ever had.

Afterwards we took ourselves on a self-guided tour of the farm. You borrow a map and an MP3 player, and listen to a commentary from the farm owner at various points. Amongst other things, I learnt that you tend to get more stinging nettles at the tops of pastures, as that is where cows tend to go and stinging nettles grow well in cow poo.

We also visited the farm shop where we bought cider, homity pie (which I slightly overcooked by setting the oven to 250 rather than 150) and enormous chocolate truffles.

There's a model village in Torquay, which is also worth a visit - and pretty good value. We went there on our way to the beach and were there for almost three hours. And (as the ticket allows free re-entry within seven days) back again one evening to see the models illuminated. There's lots to see with quite detailed models so a second visit is worthwhile. The village is beautifully set out in a pretty garden.

Yes, I did go to the beach - and I even went swimming (after a certain amount of persuasion). This is possibly the first time I've been swimming for six years. I'd forgotten how pleasant it is to swim in the sea. Because salt water is denser, you float more easily. Also, you seem to move further with each stroke so you can pretend you are a better swimmer than you really are (or maybe I am a better swimmer than I thought I was).

The sea is quite pleasant to look out over. But no shipwrecks and nobody drown-ded / in fact nothing to laugh at at all*. Lots of people were crabbing - especially in Brixham - and catching lots of crabs. You would think the evolution would have taught crabs not to congregate nears sea walls, and certainly not to grab tasty morsels of bacon when dangled in front of them.

*We did see some people wearing only swimming trunks climbing the cliffs off one headland. It looked as if they might have got cut off by the tide, but it turned out that they were free-climbers. The coastguard had already been out and concluded that they couldn't have got where they were unless they knew what they were doing, and they (the climbers) eschewed help form passing boats). We also saw a liner close to the shore, and people transferring to a smaller boat. I wondered if it had grounded and passengers were being rescued. However, it was a scheduled stop, and passengers were being taken for a sightseeing tour of Dartmouth by tender.