Beautiful Plymouth...

When Ashlynn was invited to attend University of Exeter’s Applicant Day on a Saturday in mid-February, it dawned on me that we could also visit Plymouth University along the way. We flew out on the Thursday (I must mention that the closest airports are two hours away!) and explored the city. Directly in front of our hotel in the middle of a traffic circle was the remnants of Charles Church, built in 1657 and destroyed by fire in March 1941 during World War II bombings. Rather than rebuilding, it remains as a memorial to the 1,200 civilian deaths in Plymouth during the air raids.

It’s probably not a surprise that we immediately headed towards the coast. The big open space is know as The Hoe and features statues...

...and Smeaton’s Tower, a lighthouse used from 1759 to 1877 and then relocated here as a memorial to the designer. 

We both loved the views along the low limestone cliffs.

We had no idea at the time that we climbed the hill that this 17th century fortress was built to defend the coastline from the Dutch. The Royal Citadel is still in use by the military today, but does offer occasional tours in the spring and summer.

There were threatening clouds, but luckily we stayed dry as we wandered along the harbor.

Despite the Pilgrims having absolutely no connection with the city of Plymouth until they were forced into the harbor due to bad weather, I’m guessing most of you connect this city as the starting point of the Mayflower’s historic trip to the New World. This portico was built in 1934 to designate the Mayflower Steps, however, historians believe that this was not the actual spot that the Mayflower was boarded. 

We enjoyed visiting the small but very interesting Mayflower Museum. Ashlynn got a good laugh when I wondered why they were selling stuffed empanadas and she reminded me that we were on the edge of Cornwall hence it was clearly a Cornish pasty.

We covered a lot of ground that evening as we went in search for dinner. While we never ventured out of the downtown area, I can say that we loved everything about this city, and I could definitely imagine Jimmy and I having a great time visiting Ashlynn there.