Agatha-Paddington-Sherlock-Harry - new question

Any email you sent two weeks ago to Greenway has probably become lost or buried under all the off season emails. They only opened for the season last week.

Have you looked at the National Trust app or webpage for Greenway? I don't see anything about 4 hour excursions.

If your trip is still for June, you do know that they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays?

They don't open for visitors until 10:30 so arriving early in the morning (how do you define "early"?) wouldn't help you much.

The website is quite comprehensive.

My personal knowledge is about the 1930s vintage bus from Torquay (near the theatre) which goes straight there; or you can take the regular train from Torquay station to Paignton and walk an extremely short distance to the Dartmouth Steam Railway which takes you to a shortish walk through the woods or you can transfer onto one of the ferries for a river arrival at Greenway.

All of those can be mixed and matched if you wish.

It is only 4 miles from Paignton so a private hire car (a taxi which is prebooked and looks like a normal car - you can even call just a few minutes ahead but mustn't flag one down or their insurance is invalid) should be a reasonable choice too.

There are frequent trains between Paignton and Torquay.

I'd stress less about it and just revel in the enjoyment of the place when you get there. We did.

Hi Betty,

My mum who lives in Torquay has just suggested some options for you:

1. There is a daily Barnaby bus service direct from Torquay to Greenway and back. Phone 01803 882811
2. You can certainly arrive by private car or taxi service. If you're driving your own car, apparently you must prebook a parking spot; you cannot simply turn up and park. If you need a taxi, try googling for Torbay Taxis; on their website you can request a quote.

She's also just mentioned you might like to come to the Agatha Christie festival in September. http://www.englishriviera.co.uk/whats-on/the-international-agatha-christie-festival-p1257113 Maybe not this year, but put it on the calendar for the future!

Finally, if you're staying in Torquay for a day or two, don't miss out on a walk to Cockington. It's well signposted from the Torbay road just past the Livermead Hotel as you head towards Paignton. Cockington is a very picturesque old village and there's a gorgous 1930s pub called the Drum Inn; it was designed by Edward Lutyens.

Thanks so much for the additional info.

Nigel - "Early" in this case means right at 10:30 when Greenway opens. I had looked at the Dartmouth RR site and didn't realice that it was a mix-and-match opportunity.

Mincepie - Please thank your mum for the good ideas. My daughter and I are very familiar with the festival. Unfortunately, she's in school every September, and it'll be a number of years before we'll be able to go. But it's definitely on our "some day" list.

Hello, again!

Just wanted to say that I was able to email successfully with Greenway Ferry, and they confirmed that a bus ticket is for a specified trip, either the one that leaves in the morning or the one that leaves in the afternoon. Either way, you only have about four hours to spend at the estate.

However, their general manager was very kind and helped me figure out the best way to be able to spend the whole day at Greenway. Even though we haven't actually been on one of their buses yet, I'd highly recommend Greenway Ferry, just based on how polite and helpful the general manager was.

This is just an update, in case anyone else is ever nutty enough to wonder about this.