Short answer: Babbacombe Cliff Railway is fully wheelchair accessible and saves the steep climb from Oddicombe beach. Torre Abbey Sands is the flattest beach with parking along the front. Cockington Country Park is free with level paths. Babbacombe and Maidencombe beaches involve steep roads or steps.
The town is built across several hills and the difference between a good accessible day and a frustrating one is entirely about which part you aim for. Get that right and Torquay is one of the better places on this coast for it.
This is the standout. The Babbacombe Cliff Railway has run since 1926 and is described by reviewers as fully wheelchair accessible. It connects Babbacombe Downs — the highest promenade in England — down to Oddicombe beach in about four minutes for a couple of pounds each way. It removes the single steepest problem in Torquay, and dogs travel too.
Torre Abbey Sands is the main town beach: wide, sandy, flat, and with plenty of paid parking along the front. It is the cleanest part of central Torquay and the most straightforward approach. Note dogs are banned over the summer months here.
Oddicombe, reached by the railway, is sheltered and calm with deck chairs and a café, though it is coarse shingle rather than sand. Meadfoot has a café and beach huts but very limited parking that goes by nine in the morning.
Cockington Country Park has no entrance fee, level paths through the grounds, a manor house, craft workshops, lakes and two tea rooms plus a pub. For a day out that costs nothing and does not fight you on gradients, it is the best thing in Torquay. Parking gets difficult when busy.
Burridge's on Victoria Parade has sheltered outdoor seats with a sea view. The Dock nearby is relaxed, open ten till ten and dog friendly. Meadfoot Beach Cafe sits above the beach huts with outdoor tables facing the sea, and stays open in poor weather.
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