2021 has seen a summer of staycations – and nowhere exemplifies this more than the English Rivera in Devon. Stretching from Babbacombe to Brixham along the south coast, Torbay (or Tor-Vegas as it’s known to locals) offers a wealth of sandy beaches and traditional entertainment for thousands of families spending their holidays here. Visitors have poured into the piers of Paighton and Torquay, eaten fish and chips on the harbour wall at Brixham and played at Goodrington Sands.
I spent time this summer photographing the Great British staycationers, licking their ice-creams and feeding the arcade slot machines. Empty cruise ships are moored at sea in Torbay, unable to venture to foreign shores, watching the crowds saunter along the seafront promenades. I captured the chaotic family excursions, peaceful bowling matches and the bright lights of Paignton bike night. While this has perhaps been a bumper year for tourists, there is a timeless quality about these images. If I came back here in twenty years’ time, I’d see the same scenes and hear the same conversations, all of which makes the English Riveria the classic British seaside resort.
The project was published by The BBC and by The Guardian.
