Our first visitors ...

We have had two lots of visitors already, the first ones being Clive and Mandy, who were en route to see some friends in Cornwall, and stopped by for a couple of nights. We took them for a walk along the Hoe and to the Barbican, as well as into Plymouth itself, and sampled another seafood restaurant on their first night, which was excellent. Mandy brought a secondhand guitar from one of the tiny shops in the Barbican for £18! We also had a drink at the Navy pub, and even managed a cream tea at the local dinghy club .. all very nautical!!

On the same day that Clive and Mandy left, Tricia & Campbell came to stay for the weekend. Unfortunately it was rather overcast and cold, although it did cheer up a bit (usually when we were indoors!), but this did not deter Tricia and her camera!! Whilst they were here, we walked around the Barbican, exploring some of the fascinating shops that are there, and took them for a drive up to Mount Wise , from where there was an excellent view of Plymouth and the marina (see second picture). On their last night, we tried another seafood restaurant in the Barbican which was good but VERY expensive, so I don't think that one will be added to our list - until we win the Lottery that is!!

Is that what I think it is .... ???

We saw our first submarine in the Sound on the day we arrived, but were exhausted from hauling boxes upstairs, and thought perhaps we were hallucinating. Bob told our friends in London that evening, but was met with reactions such as "hmm .. how much wine have you had/oh yeah, right!!", and as we were not quite sure what we had seen, the next time we saw one, I had the camera ready. We have now seen quite a few of varying sizes, some are actually nuclear ones, others are not. Often the larger ones are escorted by several tugs and a couple of RIBs, who escort the sub through the deeper channels (obviously!). Apparently there is another 30 feet underwater below what can actually be seen, so the channels would need to be deep.

Flat view (literally!)

The view from our South-facing flat is incredible, straight ahead we can see right out over Plymouth Sound, as well as an easterly view of Smeaton's Tower. So we can see people walking up and down, with or without dogs, bikes, rollerblades (not that they are meant to!), as well as skateboards and radio controlled cars with real little engines! On the horizon is a breakwater which protects the Sound from the most adverse effects of the weather, at the end of which is a lighthouse. The land to be seen to the right of Drakes Island is actually Cornwall, and there is a ferry service running across there from Plymouth. There are various buoys around the Hoe which mean more to Bob than to me ... red ones (port), green ones (starboard), as well as Cardinals (you see, religion gets in everywhere!!). Anyway, these mark out the deep water channels and hazards, as some parts of the Sound are deeper than others, so better for larger ships. We also get the Brittany Ferry coming in twice daily, it either goes to Roscoff (Brittany) or Santander (Spain). Very convenient!! The wind tends to make itself felt sometimes, especially when it is coming in right across the Sound. We can often see weather fronts moving across, sometimes very fast.

Getting to know the Hoe ...

We have been here a few days now, and are gradually getting familiar with Plymouth. We are on the Hoe, where Drake "purportedly" (not "supposedly or possibly" mark you!) played bowls in 1588, before sailing out to meet, greet and beat (!) the Spanish Armada. Out to sea there is Drakes Island, and far out on the horizon if the weather is clear it is possible to see Eddystone Lighthouse. The original model of this is actually on the Hoe (known as Smeaton's Tower), we can also see this from our side windows. This one originally stood on the Eddystone rocks, built in 1759 and was later dismantled in 1877 and moved stone by stone to the Hoe. The Tower overlooks Tinside Pool, which is a 1930's lido, sitting on the shoreline at the base of the cliff. Hmm, I wonder if people still use it nowadays??!

We can also see the Citadel from the flat, which was built in 1665 as a defense against Dutch invasion which never happened (until Simon came to help us move in!!). It is still used by the military (Royal Artillery), and indeed my father worked there whilst he was stationed in Plymouth when in the Army, and my sister Angela was also christened there.

Arriving in Devon ....

Got up at 5.00 and decided to start off as we were all awake .... Debbie came with me in Jazzy, whilst Simon and Bob travelled in the van. I took a few last photos of the empty flat, both Bob and I were feeling quite sad to say goodbye. We had decided to go via M4/M5 as it would be easiser with the van ... us girls beat the boys to the first stopping point (Membury), for a welcome breakfast and hot tea. Finally we arrived in Plymouth. It was quite exciting to see the signposts "Somerset" .... "Wiltshire" ... and finally Devon!

It was a beautiful sunny day, and the first sight of the flat was amazing. This is the building above, and we are on the 2nd floor (the floor below us is partly out of view) on the righthand corner (with parapet balcony), and the lounge windows extend around the side of the building to give us a double aspected view over Plymouth Sound and the Hoe. After unloading Jazzy, we went for some lunch, then started on the van ... Debbie and I worked out we had climbed a total of 2,400 steps EACH, and made 47 trips up (and down!) stairs. The boys did slightly less but carried heavier loads, so it was probably fairly even .. the flat is great, lots of storage space in the hall. We managed to do all the unloading by late afternoon, then Simon and I went for some supplies for breakfast the next day, after that we all walked to the nearby Barbican to find a restaurant. I say "find", there are a lot of eating places around, so we were spoilt for choice. We then crashed out as were all exhaused after a busy day .... the following day, Bob, Simon & Debbie returned to London with the van, whilst I sorted out the kitchen, unpacking 22 boxes (says she modestly!!). Bob came back the next day and we have now done most of the rest together.