Pretty Plymouth

Our reader Caroline Brazier reflects on a Devon adventure

Last year my family and I decided to staycation. We wanted to travel as far away as possible from our home in London to a place we had not been before and decided, mainly because of its beaches, on the port city of Plymouth in South Devon.

After a long drive we arrived and headed straight to Mount Batten beach. From the car park to the beach was about a five minute walk down a lovely pathway.

Walking down we had great views of the beach and the ocean with picturesque green hills all around. Mount Batten is a rocky, shingle, and coarse sand beach with many rocky pools. There were some swimmers and surfers in the sea and many people on the beach. We stayed here till late in the evening, enjoying a bonfire that some other beach goers had lit on the beach.

The following day we were excited to see more of Plymouth and headed straight to beautiful West Hoe Park. West Hoe Park is a beautiful green park with a large children’s play area and beautiful views overlooking the

ocean. There is a miniature railway, crazy golf course, trampolines, merrygo-rounds, bouncy castles, and gocarts. Lots of fun activities for the kids who had a wonderful time and did not want to leave the park when us parents decided it was eventually time to move on.

We walked on along Hoe Promenade to Hoe Park. It was a beautiful sunny day and despite the many tourists, we had a lovely peaceful stroll around the park and visited the iconic lighthouse, Smeaton’s Tower.

The last day of our trip was the highlight of our entire visit. It was spent on what we considered to be the most beautiful beach of Plymouth.

Our journey to this beach took us up a narrow and very steep road and then along the beautiful countryside where some donkeys were grazing in the fields. The journey was well worth it because we discovered Bovisand Beach. Bovisand Beach is a lovely sandy beach with rocky pools and beautiful scenic green hills all around. Access from the cliffside parking lot to the beach is approximately a fiveminute walk down a steep step path.

The kids loved it in Plymouth. They made some great friends on the beach and had so much fun swimming and playing in the ocean. ■

Tell us about your favourite holiday (send a photo too) and if we print it, we’ll pay £50. Email excerpts@readersdigest.co.uk