Plymouth: England’s revitalised and historic port city

In this video, we take a pre-Covid trip to England’s Plymouth, which bills itself as Britain’s Ocean City.

Located on the south coast of Devon, Plymouth played a great historic role as a naval base, with the likes of Sir Francis Drake sailing from here to defeat the Spanish Armada in 1588, and, 32 years later, becoming the last embarkation point for the Pilgrim Fathers, whose New Plymouth colony became the nucleus for the English settlement of North America.

In the 20th century, the importance of the city’s Devonport dockyards made the city a target in World War II, when the Luftwaffe reduced most of the old centre to rubble.

But flash forward to today, and high-profile chefs have opened restaurants and wine bars on the regenerated waterfront, and Plymouth’s once-quiet Barbican district is now full of cafés and bars.

There are also hundreds of historic buildings to explore, including the restored 16th-century ‘Elizabethan House’, once a ‘slum house’ where as many as 58 people lived.

Then there’s The Box, a £46-million cultural precinct featuring a regional archive, a history museum and contemporary art exhibitions. Plymouth also boasts a massive art deco swimming pool situated next to a striking lighthouse and an intact 17th-century fortress, with England’s oldest gin distillery, also nearby.

One of the best local excursions from Plymouth is to Mount Edgcumbe, where woods and meadows provide a welcome antidote to the urban bustle. East of Plymouth, the aristocratic opulence of Saltram House includes fine art and furniture, while to the north you can visit Francis Drake’s old home at Buckland Abbey.

View the original video here.

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