Torre Abbey Sands is the main beach in Torquay and is just a few minute’s walk from the hotels at TLH Leisure Resort. It’s one of the best family beaches in Torbay and we love it, but let’s take a closer look at this great family beach.
Torre Abbey Sands is just a short distance from TLH Leisure Resort
The fact that the main beach in Torquay is just a few minutes walk from the hotels here at TLH Leisure Resort certainly makes it a must visit beach for families and couples of all ages. When we say it’s a few minutes walk, we really do mean it’s only a few minutes walk and if you stand in the car park of the TLH Carlton Hotel you can see what we mean.
You don’t need to even think about moving the car, just leave it with us, put your car keys away, relax and forget about it.
Access to the beach is really easy
Saying that the beach in Torquay has easy access would be an understatement. Walking to the beach form the hotel is all downhill and once at the beach it’s completely flat. Access to the beach is from one of the five entrances, with 2 of these entrances having slopes. This makes it ideal for those with pushchairs and wheelchairs.
Be warned though, as the access for all the entrances but one takes you to the flat, concrete promenade area and there are a number of steps to actually reach the sand. If direct access to the sand is required you can walk directly onto the beach via the slope at the harbour end of the beach. You will need to check the tide times and make sure the tide is out far enough before you use the entrance or it could be a damp affair.
Golden sand fit for any sandcastle
When the tide is out, Torre Abbey Sands will see a wide expanse of fine sand absolutely ideal for building those sandcastles. In fact, the fine sand at Torre Abbey is not found anywhere else in the bay, so if a day of sandcastle making is planned then Torre Abbey Sands is the place to head to.
A beach ideal for families
The fact that Torre Abbey beach is shallow (when the tide is going out) makes it an ideal swimming beach for families and is seen as one of the best beaches in Torbay because of this.
The back of the beach is also backed by concrete steps and it’s these steps that make it ideal to just walk down into fairly deep water at high tide. These steps also make a great place to set up camp for the day if you want to stay off the sand. There are even railings at certain points along the beach to make access to this high tide water even easier.
During the summer months you will see swimmers take advantage of this as they make the most of the long summer nights and easy access to the high tide deeper water that Torre Abbey Sands allows.
A great beach for snorkeling and rock pool exploring
If you fancy a bit of snorkeling, high tide can be a great time to head down to the beach. A large part of the beach is sand but to the Corbyn Head end of the beach there’s an area of rocks.
These rocks are very close to the beach and make a great area to explore at low tide. Hours of fun can be had here exploring the rock pools and you will be surprised as to what you might find.
When the tide covers these rocks it makes for a great opportunity for some snorkeling and being so close into the beach you really don’t have to go far. Easy access form the concrete steps to deep water (at high tide) will see you floating above the rocks with the chance to see the secret world of Torquay.
As kids, we spent many hours chasing Mullet around the rocks and trying to spot flat fish on the sand. Pick a day where the water is clear and you will be surprised as to what you might see.
Parking at the beach
Parking at Torre Abbey can be tricky during the summer months. There’s limited time parking right by the beach but this fills up fast. Being for a limited time only this parking isn’t ideal if you are planning to stay all day and make the most of your time.
There’s also a play and display car park near the bridge end of the beach but if you’re staying at one of the four hotels at TLH Leisure Resort you don’t have to worry. Just leave the car and the stress of summer driving behind and walk the short distance to the beach.
Conclusion – we love it!
Torbay has some great beaches but you would be hard stretched to find a better family beach and being so close to TLH Leisure Resort is a real bonus, oh, and you can make some cracking sandcastles.
Torbay has some great beaches and take a look at our other beach blog where we highlight some other beaches to visit near TLH Leisure Resort.