Abbey Gardens and a Buzzard

Founded in 1196, Torre Abbey has certainly seen some history.

It was built on land given by the then lord of the manor of Torre, to six Premonstratensian canons from Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire. By 1536 it had become the wealthiest Premonstratensian house in England - then Henry VIII got his hands on it!

The Tithe barn, was built in the early thirteenth century and is known as the Spanish Barn. The name stems from its being used to hold 397 prisoners of war from the Spanish Armada in 1588.

The whole site is today owned by the Torbay Council and operates as a museum and art gallery. There are formal gardens attached to the abbey as well, but we were happy to wander round the more accessible gardens of Abbey Park - looking quite colourful even in January.

Among the flowers and bushes around the cliff-top walks, I was delighted to stumble across a particularly spiky example. A new 'tick' for the life list, it was a Butcher's Broom (Ruscus aculeatus).  The tiny flowers (and later fruits) seem to grow from the underside of its leaves, but the 'leaves' are in fact modified shoots known as cladodes.

The highlight of our time in Torquay however, had to be the wonderful view we had of a Buzzard as we walked along the cliffs.

Unusually tame, this fabulous bird appeared to be enjoying the warm sunshine as we approached....

and despite giving us some careful scrutiny, wasn't in a hurry to fly off, allowing for some wonderful close-ups from only about 8ft away.

What a bird!