Mark ChipperfieldAugust 24, 2026 — 5:00amOne of the many delights of a driving holiday in Devon, England’s fourth-largest county, is the wonderfully euphonic placenames. Villages like Ipplepen, Hatherleigh, Puddington and Lustleigh conjure up images of thatched cottages, Morris Men and cricket on the green.Many of these settlements date back to Saxon times and no doubt sparked the prodigious imagination of Agatha Christie, Devon’s most famous daughter, who was born in the coastal honeypot of Torquay.The town of Sidmouth in Devon, on England’s south-west coast.Indeed, the queen of murder-mystery writing is now an inescapable presence in this part of south-west England, eclipsing South Devon’s other major attractions: Dartmoor National Park, Buckfast Abbey, Kents Cavern, the South Devon Railway and, of course, cream teas.“Welcome to Torquay – Birthplace of Agatha Christie” proclaims the town sign as you edge along the coastal road from Paignton, past grand Victorian hotels and Torquay’s famous red sand beaches and dramatic ochre cliffs.Christie’s imposing family home on the banks of the River Dart, near Brixham, is now a shrine to the celebrated writer, who once called Greenway House “the loveliest place in the world”.Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletterGet exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.Also somewhat obscured by the legend of Christie is Torquay’s claim to fame as Britain’s original staycation destination.Torbay – comprising Torquay, Paignton and Brixham – was marketed to 19th century holidaymakers as the “English Riviera”.In the 19th century Torbay (comprising Torquay, Paignton and Brixham) was cleverly marketed to domestic holidaymakers as the “English Riviera”, and attracted a legion of well-heeled visitors, including Princess Victoria and various members of the European nobility such as the Romanovs.Greenway House was once the residence of murder-mystery writer Agatha Christie.“Torquay, with its pier and its diadem of white, is a most beautiful and very dazzling sight,” wrote Scottish poet William Topaz McGonagall. Vestiges of that former glory can be seen in the opulent hillside Georgian villas, whimsical pavilion, sprawling Oldway Mansion and Cockington Court, a 16th-century manor house set in manicured parkland.The Curse of BasilWith the decline of the English seaside holiday in the 1960s and 1970s, places like Torquay fell out of favour and the concept of an English Riviera became a running joke – especially for a certain fictional Torquay hotelier.An Agatha Christie display at Torquay Museum.“May I ask, what you expected to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window?” rants Basil Fawlty to a guest who complains about her lacklustre view. “The Sydney Opera House perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically?”While the location shots for Fawlty Towers, now regarded as a comic masterpiece, were recorded in Buckinghamshire not Devon, the series was inspired by Donald Sinclair, a former co-owner of the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay. The hotel was demolished in 2015.The English Riviera is gently mocked by writers John Cleese and Connie Booth in Fawlty Towers for its provincial attitudes, snobbery and laughable cuisine (“We’re right out of Waldorfs,” says Basil when an American guest asks for his favourite salad).Torquay fell out of favour with domestic tourists in the 1960s and 1970s.Today’s visitor to Torquay might also struggle to find a single wildebeest running along the promenade but will be impressed by the number of huge cranes popping up around the picturesque harbour.Torbay Council has unveiled a 20-year plan to transform the destination, including a revamped Paignton town centre, a new-look Strand in Torquay (now completed) and the redevelopment of the old Debenhams department store near Torquay harbour – costing a whopping £112 million ($226 million).In addition, the council is currently working with English Heritage and The National Lottery Heritage Fund on plans to fully restore the derelict Torquay Pavilion, an art nouveau masterpiece once dubbed “Torquay’s Palace of Pleasure”, and one much frequented by Agatha Christie.Sand in the SandwichesA big wheel is a highlight of Torquay Harbour and marina.iStockJudging from the throngs of people on the beach or scoffing ice-cream on the Esplanade on this sunny August afternoon, the traditional British bucket-and-spade seaside holiday is alive and kicking.While Torquay works hard to reinvent itself as a stylish, family-friendly and sustainable resort for a new generation, it is also benefiting from the general upsurge of interest in Devon, long overshadowed by Cornwall.The coastal town of Salcombe is now a fashionable getaway for affluent Londoners, while Lympstone Manor, owned by celebrity chef Michael Caines, has become one of the UK’s top foodie destinations, with a Michelin-starred restaurant and a boutique vineyard.Long celebrated for its excellent seafood – Brixham crabs are a local delicacy – Devon is now cementing its place as one of the country’s leading producers of artisan cheese, grass-fed meat and apples delicious enough to rival those of nearby Somerset.Dartmoor National Park is famous for its granite tors and wide open spaces.Devon is also riding the upswing in English wine production, with some 20 registered wineries including Sandridge Barton Wines, near Totnes, which produces rosé, pinot noir, chardonnay and sparkling wines.Lovers of craft beer, traditional cider and small-batch gin will also be well-rewarded during their time in Devon. Apart from long-established players such as Plymouth Gin and Otter Brewery, the county now supports a dazzling array of boutique breweries, cideries and distilleries. For a truly unique Devonian tipple try a pint of Jail Ale which is brewed at Princetown in the heart of the Dartmoor National Park, an address synonymous with its grim-looking prison that dates from 1809.Otterly WonderfulFor my six-day stay in Devon I didn’t plump for a luxury shepherd’s hut at Lympstone Manor or a room at 25 Boutique B&B (Joanna Lumley’s favourite digs in Torquay), recently named Britain’s best B&B.My touring base was the charming village of Ottery St Mary where I rented The Lookout, a tasteful one-room cottage tucked away in a maze of narrow lanes and pocket-sized fields. For someone who likes nothing better than rambling across the English countryside it was paradise – complete with ancient barns, stone bridges and lowing cattle.Dartmoor ponies roam the wild landscape in Dartmoor National Park.The village, which dates from 1086, is so quintessentially Agatha Christie you expect to bump into Miss Marple outside the church hall. Alongside the fine 13th-century church, Ottery St Mary offers two pubs, a well-regarded Indian restaurant, a fish and chip shop and a good-sized Sainsbury’s.The choice of Ottery St Mary is totally random, inspired by my teenage infatuation with the works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an opium-smoking Romantic poet best known for The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, who was born here in 1772 and dedicated a sonnet to the River Otter.Many parts of Sidmouth, a town on England’s south-west coast, have been designated conservation areas.A self-guided walking tour around the village commemorates, in part, Coleridge’s brief return visit to Ottery in his 20s when he hosted a picnic for a party of young ladies in a cave known as Pixies’ Parlour. Although the path is overgrown, it does provide marvellous views of the village and surrounding countryside. Pixies’ Parlour is still there, but I could find no trace of Coleridge’s initials supposedly carved into the soft stone.An early morning swim at Sidmouth is highly recommended.Most mornings I drive the short distance to Sidmouth, surely Devon’s best-kept secret, for a swim at its pebble-strewn beach, where the number of lifeguards often outnumber the swimmers. The water is a surprisingly pleasant 19 degrees, with a modest swell.Although busy with day-trippers, this immaculate Regency town, with its picturesque laneways, thatched cottages and grand hotels, is utterly beguiling – and great for fish and chips or a cooling pint.One day, I emerge from the surf to find a game of cricket in full swing. Sidmouth Cricket Club overlooks the beach. It is the perfect end to my perfectly sumptuous Devonian holiday.THE DETAILSFLYSingapore Airlines flies to London Heathrow from Sydney and Melbourne via Singapore. The Great Western Railway operates from London Paddington to Exeter, Torquay and Paignton. Enterprise car hire has depots in Exeter and Torquay. See gwr.com, enterprise.co.ukSTAYToad Hall Cottages has a range of houses, farm stays and country cottages in Devon, including The Lookout in Ottery St Mary, a self-contained garden apartment. A two-night stay costs from £368 ($742). The 25 Boutique B&B is an award-winning guesthouse in Torquay, with tariffs from £143 ($288) a night. See toadhallcottages.co.uk, the25.ukMOREvisitdevon.co.ukfooddrinkdevon.co.uk