Plymouth Harbour Cruise

Plymouth Harbour is an important part of Britain’s maritime history and on any visit to Plymouth, one of the things to do is to go on a Plymouth cruise of this historical harbour.

Once an old trading port, Plymouth Harbour is famous as the starting point of many pioneering voyages. When the Pilgrim Fathers made their epic voyage in the Mayflower in 1620 to discover their new world of America, it was from Plymouth that their ship set sail. On the Plymouth harbour cruise, we can get a sense of some of this history.

What we saw on our Cruise

There are different types of cruises offered by a number of cruising companies, including a longer cruise that goes up the River Tamar. From the Barbican Landing Stage, the Sound Cruising harbour cruise that we went on took us past RAF Mount Batten and along the famous Hoe to take in the views across Plymouth Sound, passing the Royal Citadel, Smeatons Tower, Drakes Island and the beautiful Mount Edgecombe Park.

Devonport Naval Base and Dockyard

Our cruise also took us close to HMNB Devonport, the  largest naval base in Western Europe, and an important part of Britain’s naval defence history.

Devonport Naval Base

At the Devonport Dockyard there were many navy ships and a few submarines were docked. The cruise commentary was very good and the crew member imparted a lot of information about the ships and submarines. Just in case you think that they are giving out military secrets, this information is available online.

We arrived in Plymouth on a rather grey day and it was a little chilly on the the top deck, but the cruise was nevertheless enjoyable. Sir Francis Drake, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Walter Raleigh, Captain Cook and Charles Darwin all sailed in Plymouth Harbour and although our Plymouth cruise boat was not as elegant as those sail ships, we can now say that we’ve cruised in Plymouth Harbour as well.

See more Plymouth cruise photos at Travelsignposts Plymouth photo gallery HERE.

Royal Citadel - Plymouth Hoe

On our Plymouth Harbour cruise we caught sight of the impenetrable walls of the Royal Citadel. Even from the water, the 70-ft high walls of the Royal Citadel look dramatic and dominate the eastern side of the Hoe. Its size hints at the role that Plymouth played in England’s naval history.

A Fortress for over 100 Years

The Royal Citadel occupies a site where the Plymouth Fort previously stood. After the threatened invasion by the Spanish Armada, Sir Francis Drake requested the construction of the Fort.

It was King Charles II who ordered that the Royal Citadel be built in 1665, as a defense against a threatened Dutch invasion. The King believed that the safety of the Navy was paramount to protect Plymouth’s military and commercial harbour. The Royal Citadel remained a most important English defence for over 100 years.

But in building the Citadel, King Charles II also had own interests in mind. The fortress also served to intimidate rebellious locals who were staunch supporters of Cromwell and the Parliamentarian cause during the Civil War. And, with some of the citadel guns trained on the town rather than out to sea, the locals had reason to feel intimidated.

Over the years, the Citadel was regularly strengthened and during the 1750′s it was equipped with as many as 113 guns. It is still in use today by the British military.

Visiting the Royal Citadel

The Royal Citadel is now an English Heritage property and you can only visit the site on tours by the Blue Badge Guides. On these guided tour visitors are taken for a walk along the ramparts from where there are stunning views out to Plymouth Sound and the old town. You’ll also be shown some of the weaponry in the fortress, with the guides imparting information about the history of the Royal Citadel, its occupants and British military history.

The tours run from May to September (these periods do change) and are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays only at 2:30 p.m. It is necessary to book your tour prior to visiting.   You can email them at plymouth.citadel.tours@googlemail.com.

Mayflower Steps - The Barbican, Plymouth

Plymouth Harbour is famous as the starting point for many pioneering and historic voyages and the voyage of the Pilgrim Fathers in the Mayflower was one of these epic journeys. The Mayflower sailed from Plymouth in 1620, bound for the new world of America with 102 passengers. Flanked by the flags of Britain and America, the Mayflower Steps is a memorial commemorating their brave voyage.

Pilgrim Fathers

The Pilgrim Fathers were mostly Puritans looking for a new life away from religious persecution by James I. They originally sought sanctuary in Holland and were now looking to colonize new lands and create a community of their own. The Pilgrims had intended to settle in Virginia but stormy weather and the rough crossing forced them to land at ‘New Plymouth’ in Massachusetts.

A list of Mayflower Pilgrims, printed on a wooden board, can be seen on the wall of Island House in the adjacent street.  Incidentally, Island House is also where you can try some Pilgrims ice cream.

Mayflower Steps

The original steps from which the Pilgrim Fathers embarked no longer exists but a granite block in the pavement with the ship’s name on it marks the approximate site. A nearby tablet commemorating the voyage was erected in 1891 and the sand-coloured Doric portico was added in 1934. Step through this portico and you’ll be standing on a small balcony with views out towards the sea.  This was added in 2000.

Mayflower Steps - Plymouth Barbican..

Nearby to the Mayflower Steps are numerous plaques and tablets that chronicle other major events near the site such as the departure of the ‘convict ships’ for Australia, the departure of the Tory – the pioneer ship that left to colonize New Zealand and the arrival of the first transatlantic American seaplane in 1919.

If you’re interested in learning more about the voyage by the Pilgrim Fathers in the Mayflower or about the lives of the merchant families, Plymouth’s fishing industry, Sutton Harbour,  the naval harbour and the development of The Barbican over the centuries, the Plymouth Mayflower building houses an interpretation centre with three floors of exhibition space.

From April to October, boat trips leave from the Mayflower Steps and Phoenix Wharf offering a sea view of Plymouth.  One-hour cruises take you to the dockyard and warships in Devonport – longer cruises go further up the River Tamar.

For more photos of the Mayflower Steps and pictures of Plymouth, see Travelsignposts Plymouth photo gallery HERE.

Tintagel Old Post Office

There is more to Tintagel than the legend of King Arthur and Tintagel Castle.   On the main street of the village is the medieval Tintagel Old Post Office. This very well-preserved 14th century yeoman’s farmhouse on Tintagel’s Fore Street has a curious wavy roof and interesting exhibits on the inside.

During Victorian times, this cottage was a post office for a brief period. It held a licence to be the letter-receiving station for the district and hence its name The Old Post Office. The National Trust bought this medieval cottage in 1903 and has restored it to its present beautiful condition.

Visiting Tintagel Old Post Office

We arrived in Tintagel on Heritage Open Day and so we were treated to a free visit of the site. The cozy rooms inside the cottage display furniture, fixtures and other household items that give an idea of how things would have looked like in the early centuries. In the bedrooms are some interesting quilts that were made by local quilters. If quilting is your interest, the National Trust organizes quilting exhibitions here where you can learn about this craft’s history and pick up some tips.

At the little ‘post office counter’ you can buy little souvenirs, stamps and Victorian postal memorabilia, but it is not a post office.

Tintagel Old Post Office Garden

Don’t forget to visit the cottage garden at the back of the building. This beautiful and quiet space offers a nice escape from the busy main street. In summer music and art in the garden are some of the events that take place here.

If you’d like to know more about the Tintagel Old Post Office, the National Trust has a little booklet that covers everything, from its history, architecture, social history, natural environment and conservation to horticulture and garden history.

The Old Post Office is open Mondays to Sundays from February to November. For more information about opening times and entry fee visit the National Trust website on www.nationaltrust.org.uk.

Address:

Tintagel Old Post Office
Fore Street
Tintagel, Cornwall

Tel : 01840 770024
Email: tintageloldpo@nationaltrust.org.uk

See more Tintagel Old Post Office pictures in Travelsignposts Tintagel photo gallery HERE.

Tintagel Castle, Tintagel, Cornwall

Since Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote his fictitious “Historia Regum Britanniae” (History of the Kings of Britain) in 1150, Tintagel Castle has been associated with the birthplace of the great King Arthur.

According to the tale told by Geoffrey of Monmouth, King Arthur was born in Tintagel to the beautiful Queen Igerna.  He was protected from evil by Merlin, the magician who lived in a cave below the mighty fortress.

Tintagel Castle

The Cornish Celtic name “Dindjagell” or “Din Tagell” means “Fortress of the Constriction”.  Set upon the steep cliffs overlooking the Atlantic ocean, the remains of Tintagel Castle are quite spectacular. Although archaeological finds show that the site was possibly occupied as early as the Romano-British period, it is the Arthurian legends that visitors come to explore.

Tintagel Castle was built around 1236 by Earl Richard Comte de Poitou.  He was the second son of King John of England and half brother to Norman-French King Henri III.  The Earl was persuaded to build his castle on this isolated, windswept spot as it was seen as the traditional place for Cornish kings.

Did King Arthur rule here?

After over 800 years, fact and fiction are inextricably entwined and some historians think that the legendary King Arthur probably did exist.  He could have been a Romano-British chieftain or warrior who led British resistance against the Saxon invasion of the 6th century.

Tintagel Castle, Tintagel Cornwall..

For many visitors, what is fictitious or true from Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain is best left to the historians to sort out .  Facts and history aside, Tintagel Castle inspires the imagination – it’s a place of dreams, romance and legends, with much embellishment from Hollywood.

To this day, visitors like us still flock here to catch a glimpse of the place where King Arthur was believed to have been born.  And if we’re lucky, Merlin’s Cave can also be seen when the tide is not high.

To get up to the castle there are two steep staircases clinging to the cliff-side. Visit in the height of summer and you may have a storyteller on hand to bring the legends of King Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot to life.

From the clifftop, a path leads from the castle to Tintagel’s church which has Norman and Saxon masonry.

See the sights of Tintagel Castle and Tintagel village through Travelsignposts Tintagel photo gallery HERE.

Egyptian House - Penzance

A rather bizarre sight near the top of Chapel Street in Penzance is the Egyptian House, a bright-looking building with a pseudo-Egyptian facade.

The Egyptian House is probably one of Cornwall’s most flamboyantly designed buildings. With its ornate lotus columns and stylised cornices, the building looks quite out of place in Penzance, as if by some miscalculation or time warp, the building was transported to Penzance instead of Egypt.

The Egyptian Fashion Craze

The facade of the Egyptian House was commissioned around 1835 by John Lavin, a local Penzance mineralogist. Following Napoleon’s North African campaign in 1798, all things Egyptian became very fashionable and Egyptian arts and style also became the inspiration for architectural ideas. The Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly London, completed in 1812, was the first of such Egyptian architectural-style buildings to be commissioned in Britain. This style remained very much in vogue into the next century and the Penzance Egyptian House is a rare survivor of that splendid era.

Egyptian House Features

In amongst the traditional Egyptian motifs and sphinx-like adornments of the Egyptian House, you can find the royal coat of arms of George III and William IV and the inscription ‘Dieu et Mon Droit’ (God and my right), the motto of the British Monarch.

John Lavin lived in the upstairs part of the house, while his mineral collection was housed on the ground floor. His extensive collection was eventually sold by his son and it is believed that it has since been donated to the Oxford University Museum.

By the 1960s, the Egyptian House had fallen into a state of disrepair. The Landmark Trust purchased it in 1968 and restored to its original glory by 1973. The upstairs apartments are available as holiday lets from the Trust.

Address:

Egyptian House
6-7 Chapel Street
Penzance

Map of Penzance:

Dartmoor Prison © Travel Signposts

It’s not common that a high security prison should become a topic on your holiday sightseeing itinerary. Our morning’s travel takes us on a visit to the wild and open moorland of the Dartmoor National Park in Devon.  As we drive past Yulverton towards Princetown for our morning stop, we hear about Dartmoor Prison, once notorious for holding some of Britain’s most dangerous prisoners.

History of Dartmoor Prison

Dartmoor Prison was built at the beginning of the 19th century to hold French prisoners-of-war. When Britain was at war with Napoleonic France in 1805, the prisoners of war were initially held on large decommissioned ships called hulks along the south coast of England. There were six of these prison hulks in Plymouth which led to concerns that such a large number of volatile captives were being held so close to Plymouth’s Royal Naval Dockyard. An alternative location to hold these POWs was found on the wild and remote uplands of Dartmoor and French POWs were used to assist in building the prison.

The first group of French prisoners arrived in 1809, followed by American POWs in the war of 1812. When the French and American wars ended in 1815, most of the prisoners were repatriated.

Dartmoor Prison then became a convict jail in 1850 and during Victorian times, it had the reputation of being the hardest and most severe prison in England.

It’s early in the morning and cold and misty when we arrive at Princeton. Walking across a deserted playground, we are able to see the grey, depressing structures of Dartmoor Prison quite well through our camera lens. My initial thought was that this children’s playground is a bit too close for comfort to a prison, even if Dartmoor is now a Category C prison and no longer holds high-risk prisoners.

Dartmoor Prison Museum

Dartmoor Prison has an interesting history and for those who are curious about prison life and Dartmoor’s infamous inmates – from prisoners-of-war to conscientious objectors to dangerous convicts – you can visit the Dartmoor Prison Museum which is housed just past the main prison entrance. Dartmoor Prison Museum is unique as it is the only prison owned by H.M. Prison Service that is open to the public. At the museum you can even buy a range of goods made by the prisoners.  (Note: No photography is allowed inside the museum.)

As for me, I guess the long-distance view of the prison is sufficient!

Minack Theatre - Porthcurno

If you didn’t know better, you might think that the Minack Theatre was probably originally built by the Roman army in 55 BC when Julius Caesar brought his legions across the Channel and settled in the south of England. After all, he was looking for minerals and found it in Cornwall.

But the truth could not be further from 55 BC. What’s truly remarkable is that the Minack was the inspiration, creation, hard work and shear determination of one woman, Rowena Cade, who first conceived of the cliff-side theatre in the 1930s to stage “The Tempest”.

During the day, visitors can walk down to the 750-seat fully equipped auditorium which has been cut into the cliff-side. In summer, they close the area at 5:00 p.m. to prepare for the evening’s performance. During the winter months, the closing time is earlier.

The Coffee Shop and Gift Shop are open during the daytime visiting hours. If you are coming to a performance at the theatre, you can buy simple take-away meals from the Coffee Shop.

The Minack Gardens with their sub-tropical rockeries have become a must for gardeners. Here exotic and salt tolerant succulents provide an added dash of colour to the area. The plant selection and ideas are based on the cliff garden developed here by Rowena Cade in the 1930s.  Except for the winter months the succulents thrive despite the wind. Many of the plants that you see can be purchased from the Gift Shop.

At the Rowena Cade Exhibition Centre you can learn the story of the girl who enjoyed the gentility of Victorian Cheltenham and grew up to build an internationally famous cliff-side theatre with her own hands.

Our Visit

Minack Theatre Entrance © Travel Signposts

Disappointingly, we arrived at 5:00 p.m. and were too late to make the visit down the cliff. Already there were people queuing after 5:00 p.m. and the performance was not due to start till 8:00 p.m.

The Gondoliers was playing tonight and tempting as it was to attend this popular Gilbert & Sullivan extravaganza in this atmospheric setting, it wouldn’t have been a wise decision to do so. It was already quite cool in the early evening and the people who know are arriving with blankets, jackets and windcheaters. Even after a very hot day, temperatures can get quite cool after dark and theatre-goers are advised to bring warm clothes and prepare for any change in weather.

There is also the issue of driving back late at night in the unfamiliar, narrow Cornish country roads. Some people have arrived by First and Western Greyhound buses which seems an easier and more sensible way to get here for visitors. A few travel operators also arrange transport to and from the Minack as well.

Well, next time we’re in Cornwall, a Minack Theatre experience would certainly be one of the things on our to do list.

See more Minack Theatre photos at Travelsignposts Minack Theatre  photo album HERE.

Land's End, Cornwall

Having made it to John O’Groats, the northern-most town in the U.K., we felt challenged to visit Land’s End, the western-most point on the English mainland. The Cornish name Pen an Wlas means ‘end of the earth’ and we wanted to stand at the end of the earth and see what it’s really like.

When we mentioned our intention to drive to Land’s End, our guest house host didn’t seem too enthusiastic. It seems that Land’s End is now a theme park and he didn’t think we would miss much if we didn’t make it there.

As we were in St. Ives, we could not resist visiting mainland England’s most westerly point. After all, it is famous for its location and stunning coastal scenery.

On arriving at the car park at Land’s End, we immediately understood the theme park warning. A big gateway welcomes visitors to Land’s End and all its attractions. Fortunately, it’s 5 p.m. and the fun park is shut and the only people left in the area are those who have come to enjoy the stunning Land’s End scenery and the beautiful coastline that Cornwall is famous for.

A popular thing to do is to have your photo taken at the signpost which shows distances from Land’s End. Unfortunately, the signpost is privately owned so you can’t go and pose with your own camera. Should you decide to buy a photo souvenir, you can even have your hometown included on the signpost.

A short walk in either direction along the coastal path from the main complex offers fantastic ocean views as far as the eye can see, including many interesting and unusual rock formations just off shore.

First and Last House - Land's End

Walking down the path we reach the First and Last House which was the first building built on the site.  Snacks and refreshments are available here, but it was shut when we arrived.

“End to End” is a free attraction at the main complex which details the amazing stories of those who have made the intrepid journey from Land’s End to John O’Groats or vice versa. This exhibition is devoted to those who have completed the journey from Land’s End to John O’Groats, or vice versa, which has come to be known as doing an “End to End’.

The many who have undertaken this challenge have done so in a variety of ways, from the serious athlete looking to break a record, to those who do it for charity in the most wacky way possible. I suppose we could count ourselves as End to Enders, although we’ve done it in a very comfortable way.

If you’re looking to enjoy a holiday in Cornwall with spectacular views, the Victorian heritage Land’s End Hotel has 32 en-suite rooms.

And for those travelling with children, Land’s End theme park offers 5 attractions for kids such as Air Sea Rescue, Greeb Farm where children can meet animals at a 200-year old Cornish farmstead, get up close to Doctor Who, etc.   At the West Country Shopping Village are  gifts and souvenirs for sale.

Getting there:

Getting to Land’s End is quite easy. Once out of St. Ives, we followed the B3306/A30 travelling southwards. The distance to Land’s End is not huge, but stretches of the road are very narrow and you do need to concentrate and look out for on-coming vehicles in the windy narrow country roads. The high hedges also make it impossible to always see what’s coming around the bend.

Map of Cornwall:

Eden Project - Giant Bee

From the air they look like Jurasic golf balls that have struck earth and been semi-embedded into the ground. Those familiar with the Eden Project in Cornwall will know of these biomes that house plant species collected from all over the world.

The Eden project in Cornwall is an all-encompassing environmental compound that’s been built on land that was previously an unused clay pit.  The centre piece of this complex is it’s two giant domes which replicate a Mediterranean environment and a Tropical environment which is the largest greenhouse in the world.

The Tropical Biome covers an area of 1.56 hectares in which tropical plans such as banana trees, coffee, rubber and giant bamboo are kept.

The Mediterranean Biome takes up 1.6 acres of space and house plants such as olives and grapes vines.

There’s also an uncovered Outdoor Biome which includes plants such as tea, lavender, sunflowers and hops from the temperate regions of the world.

The Eden Project is utopia for those keen on gardens and plants and environmentalists. The Project runs environmental education, activities and workshops. It’s a great place for kids as there are all kinds of fun and educational activities to keep them amused.

The Eden Project is easily accessible by car, train or bus.  (See here for more information >.)  If you are  staying in the region, you can even walk or cycle there.

Opening Hours:

Mar 29 – Oct 31: 10:00 – 18:00
Nov    1 – Mar 28: 10:00 – 16:30

Closed Christmas Eve & Christmas Day

Address:

Eden Project
Bodelva, St Austell
Cornwall, PL24 2SG