Upton Park is adjacent to the Torquay Town Hall. It was created in the late 1920's on what had been little more than a public tip. The bowling green opened in May 1928 (there had been one in use from 1912 on a plot nearby). The first two hard tennis courts were completed at about the same time. In 1944, prior to D-Day, a US Army field-kitchen was set up there shortly and meals were served in huts and men sat in the open air to eat them. Later the troops went down to Torquay Harbour to embark onto the ships that would take them over to the Beaches of Normandy.

In the 1980s, part of the park was dug up to provide a 'holding tank' for the water which builds up during heavy rainstorms. The River Fleet, which has run through the Stoney and Upton valleys from time immemorial, still flows through a pipe below the ground.

Today, Upton Park is home to the bowling green, tennis and basketball courts, a playground and fitness equipment as well as open space for dog walking and general play.

Upton Park has a Friends Group that has an active role in the developments of the park. For more information visit friendsofuptonpark.org.uk.

The future of Upton Park

Torbay Council and the Friends of Upton Park are working together to plan how Upton Park should develop in the future.  Key factors that need to be considered include:

The current landscape and use of the park is being looked at to establish what opportunities are available and, from there, what direction we should take from there.

Dog Exclusion Order, Upton Park

The provisions of a dog exclusion order came into force on the 15 October 2007 for a restricted area in Upton Park. The land subject to the order is the Northerly section of Upton Park, being enclosed by a fence at Lymington Road, immediately to the north of the children's play area.