Ferry trip around beautiful Torbay
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Torbay students from across the school enjoyed a fantastic day trip to the Beautiful historic fishing town of Brixham on Saturday but instead of getting there by bus we had a ferry all to ourselves. We met at school on a lovely sunny day with a warm glow around us and began the walk down to Torquay harbor. Around 60 students joined the trip but we also had lots of the school staff with us and in true Torbay style they had their children and dogs with them. Chris and Claire brought Amelie their beautiful 1 year old daughter, Tina the law teacher brought her daughter while Wendy brought her daughter Katie and her lovely dog. We got onto the ferry and the captain introduced himself and told us what we would be doing.
We set off following the coast towards Teignmouth and past the cliff top hotel the Imperial. The coastline is so stunning and the captain explained that in the layers of cliff we could see millions of years and that some of the outcrops and islands are the result of years of erosion. Lots of people had come out to fish along the coast and we waved as we passed them and it seemed the sun had made everyone really happy. We then cut straight across the bay because Brixham was on the other side. As we sailed across we saw lots of birds like Cormorants and Gulls and you could see fish swimming in the water. We the passed along the coast passed Paignton and its Victorian pier and rows of traditional beach huts. What was striking was the difference in the type of rock along the coast near Paignton because its bright red rather than the silver gray near Torquay.
Many of the students had never been on a ferry like this and it was amazing seeing so many different ships and boats around the bay. It shows how important the sea is in this area of the UK. As we approached Brixham this was also our first thought because the harbor was full of traditional fishing boats or trawlers as they are called. It’s a beautiful town and it is so obviously Devon in every way. It has a long history and fishing has always been at its heart.
We got of the ferry and then walked along the harbor past lobster pots and fishing nets into the town. The first thing we noticed was a huge 16th Century pirate ship which was amazing. It even had a pirate dressed up stood on the front shaking his sword, only in Devon. It was a lovely day so lots of people were walking around and it was market day and lots of stalls were selling food and arts so we all had a good luck around. We went off in little groups and some had lunch and of course an ice cream and sat along the harbor wall watching people with their crabbing lines catching crabs.
We all had a great day and it was a great experience to to go on a boat and be out on the sea which for many is very unusual. This is such a great part of the UK and it was great to see it in this way.