I’m back in the UK and have been sharing pictures of my adventure(s) via twitter. As it’s raining today, I thought I’d take the time to share several more.
My traveling companions and I arrived in Torquay on Friday and checked into this converted Victorian house for the duration of our stay in England.
Torquay is a seaside village on the English Channel located in county Devon. It’s known for its beaches, cliffs, fishing and Agatha Christie. Shh. Don’t tell anyone. I’ve never read an Agatha Christie novel. But I do love her town. Since arriving, I’ve been up and down the public hiking trails, all over the harbor and tromped around the beaches and rocks along the channel.
One of many delightful paths 
Path leading home 
Meadfoot Beach
At the end of my first full day in Torquay and after trekking through miles of tree-covered trails and after a traditional meal of fish and chips, I hiked back down the hill to town center. I had attempted to find a plain vanilla shake earlier in the day, to no avail. Guess I was looking in all the wrong places. I did manage to find a soft-serve ice cream shop on the boardwalk which more than satisfied my craving. Ice cream in hand, I made my way to the ferris wheel I had spotted while fetching dinner from the local fish shop. A touristy thing, I know.
English Riviera Wheel 
View of Merry-Go-Round on Torquay Promenade
Mostly, I wanted to capture some high elevation photographs, and I did …
View from the top of Torquay Promenade and Marina 
Torquay Beach 
Torbay Road
As the sun started to set on my fun-filled day, I headed back to my Victorian home away from home.
S W Coast Path 
Torquay Marina
On Saturday we traveled to Land’s End, the mostly westerly point of England located in county Cornwall. Ignoring the Universal Studios feel of the entrance, I found the rocks and views to be spectacular.
Cornwall’s hidden granite backbone 
Seven Stones Lightship
As beautiful as the landscape was, I couldn’t help but notice the smaller details along the coast.
You’ll come to appreciate (I hope) how much I love bee chasing. I sometimes wonder if they shoot out warnings to each other “Here comes that lady with her camera again. Just pose and get it over with.”
Why post one picture when I can post three? Really, I could have posted a lot more. I just love their wings and fuzzy, little bottoms.
Bees … 
Bees … 
And more bees.
Monday brought on another beautiful day in Torquay. It rained throughout most of England over the weekend, but the blue sky seemed to have settled over our cozy part of the coast.
As I cut down a staircase (I love finding shortcuts and closes that lead to who knows where), I passed by the Hole in the Wall.
And found this little fella, buzzing about …
In search of breakfast I went, settling on a sidewalk café along the quay where I enjoyed scrambled eggs over multi-grain toast with this view:
Fueled and raring to go, I headed to the other side of the harbor to see what I could see. I found a park, a circus and more bees!
Cardoons, aka Artichoke Thistles 
Kniphofia, aka Red Hot Poker or Torch Lily 
Three Busy Bees 
A bee in flight and … 
… a swan.
Something else I love to photograph is birds. So, I stood near the pier with my camera pointing up, to the amusement of all the locals, and caught these seagulls in flight. The sky was not this dark. I simply played with the digital exposure.
Seagulls flocking together 
Soaring seagull
On the other side of the harbor, I scampered down to Torquay Beach hoping to find a crab or some other interesting living creature. No such luck, but I did discover this pretty guy (girl? do anemones have a sex?) hiding in-between the rocks.
Looks like a squishy strawberry to me as its tentacles were retracted. I have no idea if they are poisonous or skittish, but I couldn’t resist giving him a gentle poke. He didn’t seem to mind.
Of course, the rocks were full of seaweed and mollusks which I was more than happy to capture (on camera, not in my pocket).
Pink & white mollusk 
Two mollusks on a vacant shell 
Mollusks hanging out 
Mollusk couple? 
Strangely stretchy green seaweed 
Potentially edible brown seaweed? 
Colorful Torquay Beach Huts 
View of Torquay Marina from the rocks along Torquay Beach 
View of Torquay Marina from Torquay Beach
I made my way back toward the marina and walked along Princess Pier.
Princess Pier 
Torquay Harbor from Princess Pier 
Tor Bay from Princess Pier 
Torquay Harbor 
Torquay Harbor
After walking along the pier, I picked up lunch – a Brixton crab sandwich and a bag of my new favorite crisps – Paprika flavored. Mmm mmm good! Then I hiked back up the long hill home and arrived seconds before the rain started falling.
Luckily for me, the rain did not last. So, after downloading all my photos and eating dinner with my pals, I headed back down toward Meadfoot Beach. (Each time I trek out, I find shortcuts to where I need to go. Yay!)
The rain may have stopped, but the waters were extremely choppy. After a warm day of walking, I welcomed the sea breeze on my evening hike. This time I headed all the way down to the rocks for more scampering and more beautiful scenery.
Waves crashing onto Meadfoot Beach 
English Channel from Meadfoot Beach rocks 
Rocks of Meadfoot Beach 
English Channel from Meadfoot Beach rocks 
Rocks of Meadfoot Beach 
English Channel from Meadfoot Beach rocks 
English Channel from Meadfoot Beach rocks
On my way down to the beach, I came across what I can only refer to as a Harry Potter tree. I think you’ll agree.
I’ll throw in a few fun shots. Here’s one of a boat which comes oh-so-close to being named after me.
And I actually took this picture right after breakfast and had fun playing with the light filters.
Finally, I stitched together three photos to create this panoramic of Torquay Marina. Yes, I ramped up the vibrancy for fun on this one (along with two others above) because they reminded me of those old-fashioned colorized post cards.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my photographic journey, thus far. As I write this, the sun is peeking out through the heavy clouds. We’re heading out soon to celebrate a certain someone’s birthday (no, not mine). On Thursday, we head to Wales where birthday girl and I will be attending our fourth All Souls Con.
As I bid adieu for now, I’ll leave you with one last set of pictures … my new buddy from next door – Francis.
Francis the cat 
Francis the pretty boy 
Francis the prowler
Candida's Musings 
I started following you for Outlander but am really enjoying your travel blog and fantastic photos. Thanks! Well done.
Hi, Ellen! Thanks so much for letting me know. I truly appreciate you’re sticking with my blog and taking the time to drop a comment. Cheers!