Tag: travel

My parents moved to Torquay in early 2002. We had visited Torquay on and off over the years – but only for the odd day-trip. Of course, Paignton Zoo had been there since 1923 – and most of us had visited at least once prior to that time – usually with school trips or days-out, etc. What was new was Living Coast (paid for by the founders of Paignton Zoo) – which opened on a beach not far from where my parents had settled. This possessed African Penguins and was marine-based. All my three children – Sue-Ling, Mei-An, and Kai-Lin spent hours of fun at Living Coast primarily because it was so close and relatively cheap to visit. A family ticket was about £20 or so – but a family could visit again free as many times as possible in the next week! This meant that we only visited the Zoo every so often – with one drawback being its size and the fact it is hilly with no public transport on site. Nevertheless, Living Coast only lastly around 17-years (closing in 2020 during Covid-19) – but the Zoo is currently 102-years old! The rise of racism in the area – with local hotels giving free holidays to BNP members and one hosting a UKIP Conference (Nigel Farage was given a Police Escort to the Livermead Cliff Hotel) – led to racial attacks rocketing and the once booming Japanese tourism trade coming to an abrupt halt. Racism toward tourists and visitors has destroyed the local economy – but the locals will still support these ideas and attitudes.