Go Fish!

Across Torbay lies a remote, almost mythical town.  It's a place I've only set foot in a handful of times in my life, and even then not for at least fifteen years.  After all, it's too far to travel, there's no reason to go there, there's nothing to see, it's a bit too... fishy.

On another stunning summer's day, Lizzie and I thought it time to put right these misconceptions and hop on the ferry to Brixham, that lesser-known third town that makes up Torbay.  You certainly can't complain at the price of the trip - a one-way ticket from Torquay costs just £1 per person, representing quite a bargain!

Fishing and Brixham are impossible to separate; they're a bit like... well... fish and chips.  The town is known as the Mother of the Deep-Sea Fisheries, and was once the largest fishery in the country, its trawlers helping to establish the industry in places such as Hull, Grimsby and Lowestoft.  You certainly don't need to visit the town to hear about its affinity with the sea, and the Brixham fisherman's reputation for bravery is known throughout Devon, as is the town's pride in its heritage.

Brixham is also famous as the landing point of William, Prince of Orange, and his Dutch army, who took their first British footsteps here on 5 November 1688.  The Prince of Orange (later King William III) would make his famous declaration, "The Liberties of England and The Protestant Religion I Will Maintain", before marching on to London to assume the throne. Apparently, many people in the area still carry Dutch surnames, being direct descendants of soldiers in that army.

Around Prince William Quay, the clouds now ominously gathering, we catch site of the fantastic lifeboats that have saved countless lives on this stretch of coastline.  The Brixham lifeboat dates back to the night of 10 January 1866, when a terrible storm swept the breakwater away, and gale force winds stopped fishing boats from entering the harbour.  Legend has it that, in the pitch-black of night, the local women brought everything they could carry to the quayside, to make a giant bonfire to guide their men home.  When dawn finally broke, one hundred lives had been lost and over fifty vessels destroyed.  News of the tragedy shocked the city of Exeter, whose citizens funded the Brixham lifeboat - now known as Torbay Lifeboat Station.

One of the reasons we came to Brixham was the see the town's two great gorillas - Bob and Nacho.  Nacho marks the furthest point on the trail, and I must say it feels like a long way from the trail's other extreme, the University of Exeter.  The artist behind Nacho designed him to be a Mexican wrestler whilst Bob, sponsored by Bob Hill Haulage, has been cleverly painted to resemble a lorry.

The rain spots having given way once more to glorious sunshine, and after a satisfying ice cream on the harbour side, it's time to leave Brixham.  The town, busy though it may be with summer tourists, seems like another world to me.  I don't feel like Torquay is just across the water, nor do I feel I am only a stone's throw from the familiar rivers and towns of my south Devon home.  It's as if I am a traveller, discovering a new and exotic place for the first time - and in a way, I suppose, that's exactly the case.  Watching the town disappear on the ferry back across the bay is like saying farewell to a newly-made friend, someone that you were at first unsure of, but have now come to understand, by learning the fascinating story lying behind the deep and soulful eyes.  Brixham, let's not leave it another fifteen years!