Torquay, Torquay, Torquay, probably the best place in the UK to go for a weekend if you're playing against the local side, actually scratch that, it's the best place for a week in the summer/early autumn. Lincoln is quite far from Torquay as you can probably guess and the journey is relatively dull, sticking to the same motorway for near enough literally 100 miles.

I once went to Torquay for a holiday and it seemed a nice town and I would certainly recommend going for a week, or potentially even longer if you get the chance. One potential place to stay would be the Sea Horse Hotel. It's based on a hill and has views that look down at the marina. A truly beautiful view and a really nice little town.

One thing that the 7 hour journey does have going for it though is the huge potential to avoid traffic problems on the roads before you start getting to the Bristol area. There are plenty of alternatives as many motorways head to the Bristol area.

THE MAIN STAND 

The trip just seems to take forever, even trips to Exeter seemed to take mere hours compared to Torquay, it's just ridiculous. Getting down to Torquay is general easy unless you go via Bristol which is where virtually every single car decides to go just to cause traffic. Once you get into Torquay, it doesn't take too long to get the ground and if you get there with plenty of time to spare, I would seriously recommend going down the bay.

There was one journey where we got to Bristol and then horrible traffic situations meant that despite leaving Lincoln in enough time that would have gotten us there at around 1, we didn't actually get to the stadium until roughly 3:05, so I'd recommend planning your journey well in advance, or even just set off early enough that any delays would still get you there in plenty of time.

If you've ever watched Fawlty Towers, which is set in Torquay, it's amazing how many of the locals act like Basil or Sybil, it's amazing. They are generally a nice bunch though and very helpful. The first time I went to Plainmoor, the coaches just dropped us off in the middle of the road and no-one knew where to go and a local helped us by pointing out the ground was down as dodgy alley.

CARLSBERG POPULAR TERRACE 

Once inside the ground, it's like a throwback. The away terrace is a fairly nice size and offers a suprisingly excellent view of the action. The stand to the right is a pitch length terrace, roughly the same height as the away terrace and this is where the majority of the home fans reside, it's funny seeing the massive rush to switch to the end the Gulls were shooting towards. The stand behind the far goal was similar to the Imps Stand at Sincil Bank. The final stand is a very tacky, small seated stand.

The atmosphere can be summed in one word, tiny. It's quite hard to make any noise and the locals often don't bother even trying to make any noise, they are amongst the quietest home supporters I've ever seen. Even when they score it isn't that loud.

I have sat in the wooden stand during one visit and although the view was far, far superior, it has numerous pillars, wires and other things in the way. I would however say that the fans in that stand are fairly pleasent and don't give away fans that much grief. The seats are very uncomfortable though and after a 7 hour journey, the last thing you need to be sat on is a wooden seat. 

Overall a trip to Plainmoor isn't bad, but it isn't particully good either. I could think of far nicer grounds I'd rather spend 7 hours on a Saturday trying to get to, I'd gladly travel the extra hour or so just to go to Plymouth instead of Torquay. However, it is what it is and there are far worse grounds around than Plainmoor.

AWAY END - THE SPARKWORLD STAND

View a Printer Friendly version of this Story.