Plymouth

Visiting Plymouth

Plymouth is a coastal city located on the South coast of England between Devon (South Hams district) and Cornwall. It has a population of about 260 thousand people being a relatively small city; it got city status in 1928.

We decided to visit Plymouth because of two major reasons – Plymouth Gin Distillery and National Marine Aquarium. I shall say straight away that as it appeared, Plymouth is even nicer than we could imagine – it looked very clean and cosy, people we met there were friendly and nice.

Getting there

One of the disadvantages of visiting Plymouth is its remote location. Plymouth is located about 200 miles (350 kilometres) from London and if you have a car may be reached in about four hours. If you go by public transport, it may take even less time from London Paddington station if you get a direct Great Western train.

There are a lot of parking spaces around the city centre, although you are allowed to park for only up to two hours at some of them. We decided to have a five-minute walk and parked at Lambhay Hill Car Park. There is a very nice view towards Plymouth marina from the car park and just a few minutes walk downhills to the city centre.

History of Plymouth Gin

As I said earlier, we wanted to visit the historic Plymouth Gin Distillery, which is located in the city centre. I would call it a museum as the tour was educational exploring traditions of gin production and the history of the city and the whole region. To join the tour you have to be over 18 of age, however, there are some tours you may book with your accompanying children.

The Plymouth Distillery is the oldest working distillery in England. There are plenty of options to book a tour you would like to enjoy and their prices vary from £11 to £48 depending on the option you choose. We visited the site in 2020 and some COVID-related restrictions were there, however, the positive side was the fact that groups were very small and everything around was very relaxed and calm. Normally, thousands of visitors come every year to visit this place.

National Marine Aquarium

The National Marine Aquarium is the UK’s largest aquarium. Many people say that this is the best aquarium they have visited. Ticket prices in 2020 are £19.50 for an adult (starting from 16 years) and £14.40 for a child; different types of family tickets are also available. In 2020, I suppose because of COVID restrictions, it is required that all bookings are made online in advance.

There are places to eat in the aquarium and gift shop as well as a play area for children. They say, there are over 4,000 animals in aquariums. Without a doubt, this is a huge place and it will take some time to see all that it offers.

Food and drinks

There is a huge choice of lunch and dining venues in Plymouth. We had a quick discussion if we wished to go for traditional fish & chips, however, we decided to go for the usual English pub because we already had some recommendations. So, we found The Navy Inn near Plymouth Marina on one of the main central streets, just a few hundred yards away from the distillery.

All I can say is that the food was excellent (huge portions), the drinks refreshing and the atmosphere nice and relaxed as it should be in the early afternoon. As a result, we spent in the pub even more time as we were planning.

Plymouth marina

Before returning, we spent some time wandering around the marina observing many yachts parked there (it was autumn already and there was almost no traffic around). Late afternoon we came back to the car park to return home; the whole day was really exciting.