Post by Dave on Jul 22, 2018 18:01:59 GMT
MS Amadea & Babbacombe & Oddicombe Beach 22nd July 2018
Another steaming hot day and one thing this weather does is fill the Bay to the brim. It is so good to see so many families having such fun, so many people on our beaches and local cafes and pubs doing a roaring trade.
In my mind there is not a better place to live than Torbay, yes there are some run down parts that need sorting out, but nature has provided us with a beauty that even Torbay Council can not ruin.
With the news we had a cruise ship in the Bay for the day, MS Amadea, I jumped on my favourite bus the open topped number 122 from Paignton Zoo and headed over to Torquay. She looked much bigger from Paignton than she did when I got to Torquay.
Judging by all what I thought sounded like German voices, most of the passengers must have spent the afternoon looking around Torquay. The ship had three of its own ferry boats both bring and taking back their passengers.
It was time to get back on the 122 bus again and flash my £5 dayrider ticket to the driver and head up to Babbacombe. Once there I decided to take the footpath that goes under a stone archway that twists and turns down so many steps through the woods until you finally come out on Babbacombe Beach.
I then walked over to Oddicombe Beach and took the cliff railway back up to Babbacombe Downs. It was getting late in the afternoon and I noticed people were now walking more slowly and looking as if the heat had taken its toll on them.
It was time to get back on the 122 bus again and enjoy the open top ride all the way back to Paignton. I have another six day working week ahead of me due to staff shortages, so I was so glad I made sure I went out and did something today.
A little bit about MS Amadea
MS Amadea is a cruise ship owned by Amadea Shipping Company and operated under charter by the Germany-based Phoenix Reisen. She was originally built in 1991 by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard in Nagasaki, Japan as MS Asuka for Nippon Yusen Kaisha. In 2006 she was replaced by the Asuka II and sold to her current owners and entered service with Phoenix Reisen
