Plymouth & Dartmoor - Devon and Cornwall - page 213

glittering Plymouth Sound - the huge natural harbour. It's where Plymothians come to
stroll, fly kites, kick a football, roller skate or watch the boats in the bay. It's always been
the focus of the city's community spirit - locals staged morale-boosting open-air dances
here during WWII and thousands still fill it at New Year and on Bonfire Night.
The Hoe is also, supposedly, where Sir Francis Drake insisted on finishing his game of
bowls before setting off to defeat the advancing Spanish Armada. The fabled green on
which he lingered was probably the spot where his statue now stands. A few steps away,
today's enthusiasts play on a modern bowling green MAP GOOGLE MAP .
The biggest of the Hoe's many war memorials, the immense Plymouth Naval Memorial MAP
GOOGLE MAP , commemorates Commonwealth WWI and WWII sailors who have no grave
but the sea. It lists a total of 23,186 men. Bunches of flowers are still often propped up be-
side individual names. The Royal Citadel , the imposing 17th-century fort at the Hoe's east
end, is still home to local troops. Also look out for some of the scores of Plymouth-based
warships (see www.qhm.mod.uk/plymouth/movements ) , which can often be seen in Ply-
mouth Sound.

Barbican
MAP GOOGLE MAP
( www.plymouthbarbican.com ) In Plymouth's historic Barbican district, part-cobbled streets are
lined with Tudor and Jacobean buildings, galleries, restaurants and funky bars. The May-
flower Steps MAP GOOGLE MAP commemorate the final UK departure of the Pilgrim Fathers, a
band of Puritans who sailed to the New World in 1620 in search of greater religious free-
dom. Having left Southampton, they were forced into Dartmouth by an unseaworthy ship
and eventually left Plymouth (England) on board the Mayflower , going on to found New
England's first permanent colony at Plymouth (Massachusetts). The Pilgrims' approxim-
ate departure point is marked by a heavily weathered honey-coloured Doric arch and flap-
ping American and British flags.
Plaques alongside mark the departures of the first emigrant ships to New Zealand, Cap-
tain Cook's voyages of discovery, the arrival of the first-ever transatlantic flight in 1916
and, five decades later, the first solo circumnavigation of the globe by boat.
Nearby, the passenger list of the Mayflower is displayed on the side of Island House MAP
GOOGLE MAP . Look out for the descriptions of passengers as either 'Saints' (Puritan pil-
grims) or 'Strangers' (those hired to support the expedition).

NEIGHBOURHOOD