A sort of homecoming.......

The third day of our trip was kind of special for me as we were returning to my home patch having spent most of my early adult life in Torbay. Most of my family still live in Paignton and Torquay so it was a great opportunity to meet up while also knocking some familiar piers off our list.

After a spot of lunch with my Mum and Sister (or Sue and Gail or Nan and Auntie Gail depending on which one of us you were asking) we headed over to Paignton Pier for the first selfie of the day. Gail did the honours with the camera so technically it wasn't really a selfie (a sistie perhaps?....sorry!)

#7 Paignton Pier (Built 1879)

After recording the moment for posterity we ventured inside to lose a couple of bags of 2p's in the arcade. Mission accomplished in about 2 minutes. They may have taken our money but credit where credit is due, the pier is looking very good these days and, so far, is the best we've visited. Plush carpeting throughout with chrome and neon lighting on the ceiling it had a real Vegas sparkle to it that was very welcoming. Bravo Paignton Pier.

After losing our pocket money we took a stroll to the end of the pier before heading back into Paignton town for some cakes and onto my Mum's to pick up the car again. With a tight schedule to keep we can't stay in one place too long!

It was then on to Torquay.

#8 Torquay Princess (Built 1894)

I must have walked or driven past the pier hundreds of times over the years I lived in Torbay but I can't ever remember setting foot on it. As a youngster walking along the wooden decking and sitting on the wrought iron seating to admire the expensive boats in the harbour wouldn't have appealed to me but now in the warm sun it seemed a perfect way to spend an afternoon.

So we did a bit of 'promenading' before taking our 'selfie' and then walked around the harbour picking out the boat we'd buy when we win the lottery. It was then back to the car to continue our journey along the coastal road through Babbacombe and Shaldon and onto our final pier of the day.

The third of today's trio of piers is an old favourite of mine, Teignmouth. In the early-mid 70's when I was just a small boy our family used to holiday in the area during the Summer holidays and the day out to Teignmouth Pier was always the highlight of the week. It didn't get much better than trying to win a packet of fruit Polo's for 2p on the Traffic Light machines! It was certainly better than being left on the pier by your mum and dad when you're just 5 years old.....but that's a story for another day!

#9 Teignmouth Pier (Built 1867)

Unfortunately during last Winter the pier suffered catastrophic storm damage which ripped the pier apart. 90% of their arcade machines were lost and the pier looked unlikely to re-open this Season.

But incredibly they've managed to repair some of the damage in time to open the arcade part of the pier and by some kind of miracle, the Traffic Light machines were in the 10% that survived. So nearly 40 years since I was winning fruit Polo's for 2p I managed to win a packet of Refreshers for 10p. Inflation eh?



After a quick kick-about with Dylan on the green in front of the pier we got back to our trusty BMW to head into Dorset and the Dorchester Premier Inn. Piers 7,8 and 9 are in the bag and we're now just a few miles away from numbers 10 and 11 in Weymouth.

It's been a while since I was last in Weymouth, I do hope they still have those amazing sand sculptures on the beach.........

Distance travelled so far: 481 Piers Visited: 9