Plymouth and Dartmoor

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My weekend in Plymouth was loads of fun and actually quite interesting. Noted below are some of the things that I did.

Barbican

Large parts of Plymouth were destroyed during the second world war, but the Barbican area survived, preserving the mediaeval street layouts and many of the Tudor Dwellings. The Barbican is a maze of narrow streets and alley ways, adjacent to Sutton Harbour, the original seaport of this area.

Sutton Harbour and the Mayflower Steps

Along with travelling through the streets and alley ways of the Barbican I also spent some time in the tourist information centre reading about the Pilgrams that left for America from the Mayflower steps in 1620; the Pilgrim Fathers famously pulled into to port for a few days in September 1620 and the Mayflower Memorial marks a point where they last walked on English soil before crossing the Atlantic. It was also at this point where many pilgrims set off for New Zealand and Australia as well. Another interesting thing to note was that Captain Cook set out on all three of his Pacific journeys from here.

Hoe

The Hoe is perhaps best known for the fact that Sir Francis Drake is believed to have played his famous game of bowls there, just prior to his defeat of the Spanish Armada. We also tried to get in to the Citadel, a seventeenth century fort that is still used today. Unfortunately this is only open during the summer months.

Milton Combe

About 15 miles out of Plymouth there is the cutest little English village, complete with a brook running through it and church. Clinton and I took a drive out to the village and had a couple of pints in a quant English pub (called “Who’d have thought it”). It was exactly what I had expected of a English village and was actually one of the highlights of my weekend.

Following a day of playing the tourist, it was time to head out for dinner with Clinton, Louise and a friend of there’s, Drew. We went to Tanners Restaurant in the Prysten House which is the oldest domestic structure in the heart of old Plymouth. We enjoyed a 5 course meal and spent the rest of the night consuming far too much vino.

Dartmoor

The following morning we woke up to sunshine (the sun was out but this didn’t mean that it was warm) and headed to the Dartmoor National Park, this park was established in 1951 and covers an area of nearly 370 square miles. Dartmoor National Park was the fourth park of its kind to have been created throughout England and Wales. Dartmoor has magnificent countryside and as well as fantastic views across the moorland and such picturesque towns and villages (with the thatched roofs) - Dartmoor is also well known for the Dartmoor Pony. These ponies have grazed the moor since early in the eleventh century and still roam freely today. I took loads of pictures of the ponies and sheep as they were so fluffy and cute.

So the combination of history and geography lessons, loads of food and wine and little to no sleep meant that my body was well and truly tired by the time that I got home at 10.30pm on Sunday!!!

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Photos

Dartmoor
Clinton and Nic

Dartmoor
Louise and Nic