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Plymouth UK is the largest city in the south west, with a population of around 250,000, and has a rich history, especially in all things maritime. Bordered on the west by the River Tamar, Plymouth has since the mid sixties included the large suburbs of Plympton and Plymstock which extend the city eastwards beyond the River Plym from which it get its name.
Plymouth has a strong naval tradition, becoming a major shipping port during the Industrial Revolution. At that time, Devonport was a separate nearby town which itself was turning into one of the leading centres for the Royal Navy in the country with a huge investment in shipbuilding. Today, Her Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Devonport (also known as HMS Drake) is the largest in Western Europe with 14 dry docks and one of only three still running in the UK. It is the only UK HMNB with facilities to repair and refuel Trafalgar-class and Vanguard-class nuclear submarines. One of these submarines is usually available on Plymouth Navy Days, an event held every two years to allow locals and tourists to visit Plymouth dockyard. Visitors are invited to board vessels currently docked and there are many stands, displays and other attractions throughout the event.
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| It was due to the importance of Plymouth’s naval base that it was targeted during World War II and suffered considerable destruction during the so-called Plymouth Blitz. After the war, the centre of Plymouth was rebuilt to a design by Sir Patrick Abercrombie, leaving the partially destroyed Charles Church as a permanent monument to the bombing. Since then there have been further major architectural changes to the city, including the construction of Drake Circus indoor shopping centre, an overhaul of the Royal William Yard to make it an attractive location to enjoy lunch, and a complete revamp of University Plymouth which included the building of the striking Roland Levinsky art department. |
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University Plymouth is the 9th largest university in the UK determined by the number of students which is around 30,000. It offers a wide range of courses from marine biology to music production and also provides plenty of research opportunities. Plymouth University is not the only further education establishment in the city. University College Plymouth St Mark & St John, known locally as “Marjons”and formally as “UCP Marjon”, was originally a teacher training college which relocated in Plymouth in the 1970s. It continues to offer training for budding teachers but has also become a centre for sports development and performance. Plymouth College of Art offers BA and BTEC qualifications in everything associated with the art world, from fashion to film. City College Plymouth provides skills-based, vocational training for around 19,000 students.
The entire Barbican area is a visitor’s paradise and provides much entertainment in Plymouth. The narrow cobbled streets are lined with specialist shops, many of them selling antiques, and art galleries displaying the products of local artists who went on to international fame, such as the late Beryl Cook and Robert Lenkiewicz. The renowned Plymouth Gin Distillery, located at the end of Southside Street, the main thoroughfare of the Barbican, offers tours ranging from a 40-minute overview to over 2 hours of in-depth information plus the chance to create your own gin recipe. There is a multitude of eating establishments, offering Italian, Moroccan, Spanish, Asian, and, of course, British food. Sea food is a speciality and many restaurants serve up fish that has been freshly caught by Plymouth fishermen that morning.
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| Plymouth is probably most famous for the Mayflower Steps, the departure point on the Barbican for the Pilgrim Fathers in 1620 on their way to the New World, later to become the United States of America. Plymouth’s oldest street, New Street, is home to the beautifully-restored Elizabethan House and Gardens which transports visitors back in time to when Sir Francis Drake and his cohorts strode through the area. However, Plymouth's most famous landmark is Smeaton's Tower which stand proudly on Plymouth Hoe offering visitors panoramic views of Plymouth Sound. |
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| Tourists or locals crossing the short footbridge near to the Mayflower Steps will find themselves quickly at the entrance to the National Marine Aquarium (NMA). As a charity, the NMA’s mission is “to drive marine conservation through engagement” and it does a lot in the way of education for local schools. The aquarium is the largest in the UK and has a wide variety of marine life. Of particular fascination is the Atlantic Ocean tank which holds 2.5 million litres of water and houses over 70 sharks. Always a favourite with children, the aquarium offers not just parties but also the chance to sleep with sharks! And older visitors don’t miss out as there are large and small rooms to hire for corporate functions and private parties. A rather longer but very pleasant walk in the opposite direction will take visitors along the promenade to Plymouth Hoe. The Hoe, meaning “high ground”, is a magnificent location consisting of large grassy areas on which to rest and maybe enjoy a picnic, wide paved sections used for a variety of events from graduation ceremonies to music festivals, a large bowling green, a small pitch and putt course, memorials and statues such as that for Sir Francis Drake, the striking Smeaton’s Tower, and a line of international flags waving in the breeze off Plymouth Sound. The Royal Citadel, built between 1665 and 1670 to defend the city, sits proudly at the east end of the Hoe and tours are available during the summer months. |
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Below the Hoe, and below the wide promenade where tourists and locals stroll, stopping occasionally to buy an ice cream or a cup of tea, a large open-air lido attracts those prepared to brave the moderate temperatures of the water. Tinside Pool was built in the 1930s in the Art Deco style for which that era was famous. With its popularity declining, the pool fell into disrepair and closed in the early 1990s but locals launched a huge campaign to save it. The campaign was so successful that it led to the pool being given Grade II listed building status in 1998, followed by a sympathetic restoration to its former glory costing £3.4 million.The lido reopened in 2005 and visitors can enjoy the 180-foot semicircular pool complete with fountains during the summer months. The view from the Hoe over Plymouth Sound is spectacular. A natural deepwater harbour, Plymouth Sound teems with all manner of sea vessels. You may be lucky enough to see a Royal Naval ship or submarine coming into Plymouth docks, or one of the massive Brittany Ferries setting off for Roscoff or Santander. On some days the Sound will be full of small yachts, criss-crossed by motor boats full of tourists discovering the Tamar, and dissected by the Cawsand ferry. On other days, speedboats and other racing vessels zip around the bay, such as during the America’s Cup in September 2011. |
| Right in the middle of Plymouth Sound sits Drake’s Island, an island of 6.5 acres. Originally it was known as St Michael’s Island, named after the chapel built there. When the chapel was rededicated to St Nicholas, the island’s name followed suit. During the 16th century Sir Francis Drake became closely associated with the island and it began to be referred to as Drake’s Island, although most maps still showed it as St Nicholas’ Island well into the 19th century. A gun battery and barracks were built on the island for soldiers defending Plymouth from attacks by the French and Spanish. The island has remained mostly the property of the Crown, apart from about 25 years when it was leased by Plymouth City Council to be used as a youth adventure training centre. Since 1995 the island has been in private hands. |
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Beyond Drake’s Island is Plymouth Breakwater which protects ships at anchorage in Plymouth Sound. Almost a mile long (1560 metres) and 13 metres wide at the top, it was built in the early 19th century using around 4 million ton of rock, its foundations resting on Shovel Rock. It was a truly amazing engineering feat which took 29 years and cost a massive £1.5 million (approx £75 million today). A lighthouse, operational since 1844, was erected at one end and a sea fort was built just inside the breakwater, sharing Shovel Rock as its foundation. At the eastern end there is a beacon within a large spherical cage which is also said to serve as a refuge for shipwrecked sailors.
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