You don’t have
a car. So how do you get about the Bay?
It’s not a great problem. Torbay’s
bus system is tightly networked, and spans
a wide area from Dartmouth to Newton Abbot.
There's also Steam
trains and bicycles!
You can take the
120 from Dartmouth, change for the 12 at
Churston, and end up in Newton Abbot some
eighty or ninety minutes later. That may
seem like a long time, but it’s a
lot cheaper than running a car and you don’t
have to worry about parking when you arrive!
Waiting times are good: during the day the
service is about every ten minutes.
Shiphay to the Wellswood
peninsula in Torquay is well covered. The services
start inland and run to the coast, rather than
cross country. If you want to get from Torbay
Hospital to St Marychurch, and don’t fancy
walking along Hele Road, you will have to take
the 32 or 33 through Shiphay and Chelston, around
the Harbour and up Babbacombe Road, which is
time consuming and costly, but public transport
does tend to group itself in a star like formation
from outside the town to the centre, so you
just have to stick with it, unless you want
to walk part of the way. The alternative is
cycling – see
my article on Cycling in Torbay for tips.
The
Bay is also well served for country or through
buses. The 12B will take you from Bovey Tracey
through Ashburton and Buckfastleigh to Brixham;
and the 12D runs from Kingswear to Torquay. The
111 from Dartmouth to Torquay takes in a hefty
detour via Marldon, and you’d be better
off following my earlier advice of taking the
120 and changing, but the service is a boon if
you live in Marldon and want to go to Torquay.
Further afield still, the X80 will take you from
Torquay to Plymouth via Totnes and Ivybridge;
and the X40 and X46 are express services from
Paignton to Exeter costing £6 return. The
country bus service into Exeter is the number
85, which starts in the centre of Torquay and
runs along the Babbacombe Road via Teignmouth,
Dawlish Warren and Dawlish. It’s a handy
route if you need these seaside towns, but for
Exeter, the Express route is by far the quicker
one.
Comprehensive
lists and maps of all these services are available
on the website: www.torbay.gov.uk.
Click on A-Z of Services, then click on the letter
B, scroll down the list until you come to Bus
Services – Maps and Routes.
The quickest route into Exeter is Wessex Trains’
branch line from Paignton to Exeter St David’s.
The train stops at the Bay’s other two stations
– Torquay and Torre – before travelling
inland to Newton Abbot and out again along the
coast, calling at Teignmouth, Dawlish, Dawlish
Warren and Starcross, before heading back inland
to Exeter St Thomas and St David’s. The
price of a standard return from Paignton to St
David’s is £7.60 with a journey time
of 49 minutes. If you can get to Newton Abbot,
you can pick up the main Great Western line that
runs from Plymouth to Bristol and London. Not
all trains stop at Newton Abbot, but it is a faster
service as it does not run along the coast. Full
details of services and time tables can be seen
on www.wessextrains.co.uk.
The website will also tell you about Bank Holiday
services, engineering work and connections. You
could also use the steam railways. See
the article on this site.
Want
to cycle at the other end? Then take your bike
with you, but on some services you will need to
reserve a place in advance. Again, full details
are available from the website.
If you are a regular rail user, you might like
to subscribe to the Torbay Line Rail Users Group.
Subscription rates are £5 per year or £3
for senior citizens. For this you receive a quarterly
newsletter and are invited to regular meetings.
The aim of the Group is to promote the use of
the Paignton to Exeter line for residents, tourists
and businesses, and to liase with the rail company
for better services, such as bus links, integrated
timetables, and walking and cycling opportunities
around stations. Further details from John Hartley,
Woodlands, Old Newton Road, Kingskerswell, Newton
Abbot TQ12 5LB.
Finally,
don’t forget the freebies. The Bay’s
three big supermarkets all run free buses to and
from their premises. Safeway run from their store
in Totnes Road, Paignton, to Brixham. Sainsbury’s
run from The Willows, Torquay, to St Marychurch,
Watcombe, Barton, Chelston and Shiphay; and from
their Brixham Road, Paignton, store to Goodrington,
Brixham and Stoke Gabriel. Tesco cover a circular
area from their Newton Road, Kingsteignton store,
which takes in Dawlish, Teignmouth, Chudleigh,
Newton Abbot, Bovey Tracey, Ashburton, Paignton
and Torquay. Marks & Spencer also cover a
wide radius from The Willows. Their bus runs from
Dawlish, through to Newton Abbot, Ashburton, Torquay,
Paignton and Brixham right down to Kingsbridge.
With Council’s tightening up on parking
and increasing the fees, it does make sense to
use public transport if you can. Torbay have plans
to ban parking next year in Union Street during
the day, with bays available only for disabled
drivers, loading and taxis. They will also widen
the pavement. Parking charges have already risen
in East Devon, and could well do so in The Bay
and surrounding areas. Why not try a dayrider
for £3.50, or a weekly megarider for £15?
You’ll cut out the stress of parking, traffic
jams, will save petrol and wear and tear on the
car. Better still, you’ll be helping to
protect the environment. |
