Torquay Hi-Flyer

Is this attraction just a large advertisement as every time we go down to the sea front to have a go its not working, cant remember the last time i saw the ballon air borne and not just teathered to the ground

I agree, don’t knock this until you’ve tried it. The balloon is a great experience and I welcome another visitor attraction with open arms. Views are amazing.

Oooooohhh! Controversy! You would not BELIEVE how contrary some of our locals are here in Torquay when someone mooted the idea of having a tethered balloon on Torre Abbey Meadows so that folks could have a 200m+ overview of the Bay and town the whining could be heard from London. However, like the surreal juxtaposition of Wind Farms in the desolate hills around Palm Springs, the balloon somehow has a strange beauty in its surroundings. I am reminded (in my increasing age.) of the world famous Golf Balls of the Early Warning System plonked like aliens on the moors outside Whitby, or, perhaps more appositely, Rover the big bubble who used to chase Patrick McGoohan round Portmeirion! It is large, it is white, and the view you get from the gondola at around 500ft is pretty spectacular. Torquay looks like a huge Albino Victorian Starfish sprawling up the famous Seven Hills, and the view over towards Dartmouth and across the Bay is pretty cool too! I’m sure it WILL catch on as a permanent addition to our scene, and it will also combine with Torre Abbey itself as a combined attraction when THAT re-​opens shortly. With the onrush of the stay-​cation, Torquay could do with more family attractions. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it, I always say!