Torre Abbey Museum, Paignton Palace Theatre and Torquay Museum are all marking Visit England’s English Tourism Week, taking place Saturday 30 March to Sunday 7 April, by giving offers to local residents.

Torre Abbey Museum and Torquay Museum in Torquay and the Palace Theatre in Paignton are getting involved in Visit England’s English Tourism Week and are opening up their doors to residents to offer a range of events and activities for all ages to enjoy.

English Tourism Week is an annual week-long celebration of the quality and vibrancy of the UKs thriving tourism industry. The national campaign led by Visit England kicks off the summer season and is seen an opportunity to raise the profile of tourism businesses, and for residents to experience tourist attractions right on their doorstep. Torre Abbey Museum will be celebrating their upcoming summer exhibitions – The Printed Line and The BFG in Pictures.

On Saturday 30 March and Saturday 6 April, children and teens are encouraged to bring their ‘Big Friendly Grown-Ups’ to the museum for free with ‘One Big Friendly Grown-Up’ admitted free with one child or teen (under 19). There will also be a programme of family activities including nature printing and the planting of snozzcumbers (fees apply). On Thursday 4 April, and as a warm up to Minigog, the team at Torre Abbey will be opening up their doors in the evening for ‘Now That’s What I Call A Music Quiz’ where entrants will get to wander around the museum before teams compete against each other to be crowned ‘Musical Mastermind of Torbay’. For more information visit www.torre-abbey.org.uk

On Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 March, the Palace Theatre is  showing three performances each  day of the popular children’s book ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ and on Tuesday 2 April are running an exclusive free backstage tour where you can go behind the scenes, learn more about live theatre and put yourself firmly on stage. Booking for the tour is essential as spaces are extremely limited. For more information visit: www.palacetheatrepaignton.co.uk 

Torquay Museum is offering free entry on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 April from 10am until 4pm (last entry 3.15pm). On Saturday the museum will be transformed into a dramatic courtroom as Circle of Spears Productions bring their acclaimed historical drama WITCH to South Devon for the first time. Tickets for the performance are available to purchase via www.circleofspears.com/store for £10 per person. On Sunday the highly talented Pocket-Watch Theatre Company presents ‘A Millennium of Monarchs’, an original fun filled family friendly show about the British Monarchy from 1066 to the 21^st Century. Tickets £10 adults / £8 children and are available to purchase by calling the museum on 01803 293975.

Phil Black, Culture and Events Service Manager, Torbay Council, said: ‘We are delighted to be participating in Visit England’s English Tourism Week. Torre Abbey is an awarding winning fantastic local attraction in the heart of Torbay that offers an all year round varied programme of art exhibitions, events and activities. It’s a place local people may be aware of but may not have visited, many of our first time visitors regularly tell us they cannot believe how much there is to do, see and enjoy. With an exciting year ahead, we want to encourage local residents to visit once for free and to keep coming back all year round.”

Maureen McAllister, Operations Director, Palace Theatre Paignton, said: ‘English Tourism Week is a great opportunity to showcase what we have on offer for locals and visitors alike on the English Riviera. Having ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ on our stage is a great way for us to start the celebrations. Our back stage tours are always popular and we are hoping to encourage our audiences to share their favourite memories of performance at the Palace Theatre on social media during the last weekend of the campaign for the #bigtweetend.”

Carl Smith, Marketing Manager, Torquay Museum said: “It’s a myth that the wealth of cultural tourist attractions within Torbay are just for tourists, but attractions like Torquay Museum have a huge amount to offer to local residents. As well as showcasing Devon’s only human mummy, the world’s only Agatha Christie Gallery and Britain’s oldest human fossil, we also host a wide variety of events, activities and talks on a huge range of subjects. With several new exhibition every year, there truly is something for everyone at Torquay Museum.”