William Scoresby in Torquay: explorer of the world and of invisible forces
William Scoresby (1789-1857) was an Arctic explorer, scientist and clergyman who ended his days in Torquay. He made yearly voyages...
David Bowie: Torquay’s occult connection
When David Bowie recently died at the age of 69 we mentioned that the great performer was involved with...
A road away from Torbay: will the South Devon Link Road change us?
Roads change us. They take us away and bring us back to where we started, and make journeys easier and...
The Ghost of Torquay’s St Michael’s Chapel
“Not always am I permitted to visit earth in my earthly form”, the talkative St Michael's Chapel Ghost Now...
A Berry Pomeroy Timeslip Ghost
Berry Pomeroy Castle, between Paignton and Totnes, has long been known for its ghost stories, the most well-known being the...
Rudyard Kipling’s unquiet spirits in Maidencombe
Torquay visitor Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was one of the Britain’s most popular writers in the late 19th and early 20th...
Helen Taylor: Torquay’s trouser-wearing Feminist
The pioneering feminist Helen Taylor (1831–1907) spent her last years in Torquay. Helen was the daughter of Harriet Taylor Mill...
Charles Kingsley in Livermead
“No wonder that such a spot as Torquay, with its delicious Italian climate, and endless variety of rich woodland,...
Torquay’s remarkable Edward Bulwer-Lytton
"Oh You Pretty Things, Let me make it plain, You gotta make way for the Homo Superior" David Bowie There...
Superstar Ruby Murray in Torquay
Back in the early 1990s there was a lady who frequented the bars around Torquay harbourside. It was often said...
Wilkie’s ‘The Woman in White’ in Torquay
“No sensible man ever engages, unprepared, in a fencing match of words with a woman.” This weekend the BBC launches...
Roger Deakins: beyond Torquay
We’ve often said that no good can come from leaving Torquay. Why leave the Bay when we have it all?...
Jay’s Grave: legend, fact and fiction
“No matter what time of year, whenever you pass Jay’s Grave you will always see fresh flowers, sometimes wild...
‘A Summer Story’: tears and tragedy in Edwardian Torquay
“For every man and every woman there is that one great love. A love that touches the heart, fires...
1914: Torbay goes to War
“Why do they call, sonny, why do they call for men who are brave and strong? Is it naught...
James Joyce and a Torquay Bloomsday
“The sea, the snotgreen sea, the scrotumtightening sea”, Ulysses The Irish novelist and poet James Joyce (1882-1941) is considered...
TW Booker’s 1815 Ode to Regency Torquay
This one’s for all you merry swains and maids of Torquay – a swain, apparently, is a country lad or...
The Baby Farmer: Horror at Lawe’s Bridge
In 1865 Charlotte Winsor was arrested at her small cottage at Lawe’s Bridge - pretty much where MacDonald’s now...
Sean O’Casey in his Torquay Exile
In September 1964 Sean O’Casey died of a heart attack in Torquay at the age of 84. He was cremated...
A short history of Gay Torquay
From its very beginnings as a town, Torquay had a significant gay population. As in many other coastal towns, the...
