City Beside the Sea

This photo was taken recently on one of my trips, this time to Plymouth in the south-west of the UK. I decided to take a day trip back to the city I lived in for over ten years and where I went to university. The pic above is of Plymouth Hoe. On the right you can just see the sea and at the top of the photo is the Royal Citadel. It was built in 1665 over the earlier Plymouth Fort as a defense against a threatened Dutch invasion. It has been regularly strengthened over the years, particularly during the 1750's when it was equipped with 113 guns, and is still in use today by the military. Plymouth is a city with a long Naval tradition and there is still a strong Naval presence there today. Below is a photo taken from the Hoe where you can see more of the sea as it enters the harbour.

Of course, Plymouth is where the Pilgrim Fathers sailed from on their trip to settle in America and you can still see the Mayflower Steps, or at least the place where the steps were, which is where they boarded the ship. Plymouth Hoe was also the place where Sir Francis Drake was reputedly playing bowls when the Spanish Armada sailed into view. The photo below is taken looking the opposite way to West Hoe. You can just make out the Tinside Pool which was recently refurbished and like the rest of the Hoe, was originally constructed by the Victorians. You can also make out a light house to the far right of the picture which is called Smeatons Tower. From 1759 to 1882 it stood as the fourth Eddystone lighthouse, built on a dangerous reef fourteen miles south of its present spot. It was the first traditional stone lighthouse ever to be built on a wave-swept rock.

Plymouth Hoe is a wonderful spot to visit. It is often full of tourists in the summer but when I lived there I liked to get up early and have a cup of tea from a cafe nearby and watch the tide turn and the fishing boats come and go.