Christmas in Torquay

Last year, for our 1st Christmas short break of the year, we packed our bags and headed down to Torquay in Devon. I was attracted to Torquay as I’m always in the hunt of finding dinosaur places for Mahish but as Laksha is growing up and doesn’t really believe in Santa, Torquay provides me with other more age appropriate activities.

We stayed in a Travelodge in Torquay for 4 days and travelled by train from London. We took a day bus pass to travel around the area. Everything was easy to reach and find. On our first day, we visited Dinosaur World which is right in the town centre near the harbour. It was small but perfect for my little palaeontologist. They did a Christmas trail which took us to all corners of the place. There were so many exhibits which we can could touch, feel and sit on making it great for photo opportunities. It had plenty of hands on exhibits and more information was fed to my dinosaur-mad son! It had a nice little shop where Mahish bought an unusual barn which he adores greatly. Mahish came out very ecstatic!


Up the hill we went to visit the Kent’s Cavern Prehistoric Caves. There was a Santa’s Grotto which we didn’t do. With our guide, we explored the caves. It felt like we stepped back in the Stone Ages as we traced their footsteps. Our guide was amazing and totally engrossed the children in the history of the cars. From seing beautiful stalactites, to seeing hiding places of prehistoric men, bears and hyenas. At one ooh t, we stood in complete darkness to imagine how it was to live in caves along with animals. There were narrow places but didn’t deter my kids from having fun and climbing through narrow spaces! After thanking our guide, we spent some time in the children’s area doing lots of activities such as digging, tracing and playing old games. We then spent quite a long time in the shop as the kids couldn’t decide what to pick amongst the extensive gifts on display. There was a cafe but didn’t go there. We instead headed out as there was a prehistoric trail which was quite interactive such as building our own dens with whatever we could find. There was quite a lot of up and downs which was great for the kids to let all their energy out!

The following day, we headed out to Bygones Museum, a family museum which represents the Victorian times with lots of artefacts collected and preserved across generations. We had a very important breakfast appointment before we explored the Museum. The breakfast appointment was none other than with Santa himself who spend sometime our on table engaging the kids in conversation while we had breakfast. It was very quiet and an intimiste meeting. Once we were done with breakfast and loaded with lots of presents and chocolates (chocolates in the morning doesn’t count when it’s Christmas), we explored the museum while doing a Christmas trail! We came across Victorian shops and could smell the streets and hear the noises of the past! There was a games arcade with games from Victorian time which was great fun! Once we done the trail, the kids had a prize of picking something from the toy shop and I myself collent help myself but buy some retro games!

Nearby was the Babbacombe Model Village! I love these model villages and no mater how many I’ve seen, I can’t stop my amazement at the intricate constructions and this one was also beautiful! The kids running up and down to see all the tiny villages and spotting places they’ve seen in real life wa a great to see. There was also a miniature golf and a little pantomime was also in show for us to enjoy! We spent a good 2 hours there as it was hard myself to tear ourselves from this pretty model village. We saw Santa again and he gifted us more presents. Babbacombe beach was right next to it but the chilly weather although sunny, stopped us from visiting it. Apparently there’s a cliff lift that takes us down to the beach.

On our final day, we just visited the town centre and harbour again. We also visited the pier at Paignton beach quickly before we headed back home! The kids loved running around the pier and playing in the arcade.

It didn’t cost us much as hotel and transport were booked 2 months in advance. The tickets for all attractions were booked online where in some attractions it was cheaper to book online. The weather was sunny despite it being chilly. I’ll recommend it for anyone to go throughout the year!