Plymouth grin
famous landmarks. Smeaton’s Tower – its red-and-white lighthouse – stood proud and Royal William Yard, a former naval victualling yard, showed off its Grade I-listed buildings, repurposed into galleries, artist workshops and brasseries (running from April 2022, adult £11, child £6, families £30, plymouthboattrips.co.uk).
We headed back there another time to Hook & Line restaurant. We loved its seafood menu and chose a variety of small plates such as scallops – caught by its fisherman co-owner Ben’s scallop boat Sidney Rose – honey and soy glazed octopus, grilled sardines and teriyaki prawn and scallop skewers.
The Barbican Botanics and Devon rums from the Rum Bar – with a nod to the naval history – went down well too (thehookandlineplymouth.co.uk).
Plymouth is a beautiful city to simply walk around, with an abundance of incredible sea views, pretty harbours teeming with boats and historic landmarks.
The vibrant Barbican, once part of the old port and now home to independent eateries, cake-laden bakeries and craft shops, contains dozens of listed buildings and has the UK’s highest concentration of cobbled streets,
Standing amid the hustle and bustle is Plymouth Gin, Britain’s oldest working distillery. The building, once a monastery, debtors’ prison and brewery, dates back to the early 1400s and was where the Pilgrim Fathers overnighted in 1620 before setting off on the Mayflower for a new life in America.
In 1793, Thomas Coates took over and started making gin using botanicals sourced from neighbouring Sutton Harbour, then one of Europe’s biggest spice ports.
We joined a distillery tour, during which our guide Naomi explained how the resident Royal Navy used to export the gin around the world. As it was carried on ships alongside gunpowder, a gin had to be devised with a high enough alcohol content to ensure the gunpowder would still light if it spilled.
Hence its famous Navy Strength gin – a mind-boggling 57% abv – was born.
Rosie and Freddie enjoyed tasting the seven botanicals that go in the original, tamer, Plymouth Gin; it’s still made to Coates’ recipe (tours £13.50pp, children free, plymouthdistillery.com).
Afterwards we stayed for lunch at the distillery’s lovely Barbican Kitchen restaurant, run by TV chefs and brothers James and Chris
Tanner. There’s lots of fish, locally caught, and my grilled mackerel with salsa verde followed by plaice on a bed of lemon risotto were exquisite.
Rosie’s favourite bit was her coconut rice pudding with raspberries; you’d never know it was vegan (barbicankitchen.com).
Nearby lies the National Marine Aquarium, Britain’s biggest. There we learned that sharks actually sleep; if they look like they’re drifting rather than moving with a mission, they’re really having a nap.
At the floor-to-ceiling Eddystone tank we saw species that exist off the Plymouth coast, including lobsters, rays, conger eels and even small sharks (adult from
£19.50, child from £9.75, national-aquarium.co.uk).
To avoid a long drive from our home in the South East we’d travelled to Plymouth by train.
An added bonus was the amazing scenery – at times we passed right next to the sea.
Our base was the Crowne Plaza hotel just behind the Hoe, a large open park that hugs the coastline. Within walking distance of the lido, the Barbican and Sutton Harbour, it’s in a prime position.
If you visit, try and nab a room at the front for sensational views over Plymouth Sound (sadly we didn’t!). Failing that aim for a window seat at breakfast in the top floor restaurant.
Next stop was the new Market Hall, a digital and creative hub that’s home to a 49ft high immersive dome that beams out films across its curve. We watched Sea Monsters which told the story behind archaeological finds, conjuring up images of a prehistoric sea world inhabited by giant menaces. The effects are great but arrive early enough to claim a huge bean bags which allow you to lie back and take in the action (various prices, realideas.org).
For yet more fabulous views we chilled out on the terrace at Pier One, a restaurant perched on the Hoe’s cliffs. Seafood beckoned (naturally) so Tim and I went for grilled mackerel while the kids wolfed down moules mariniere and good old fish and chips (pieroneplymouth.co.uk).
Britain’s Ocean City came up trumps yet again.
We saw species that exist off the coast – rays, lobsters and even sharks