April 7, 2014
Around Plymouth, no cycling: a blustery day in a historic city
We woke up to fog, rain and wind—the branches of the cherry trees were tossing and shedding their blossoms. We were doubly glad to not be heading off on our bikes today. Since all our accommodation had been booked in advance, we couldn't really change our schedule, so it was serendipitous that we had planned to stay an extra day in Plymouth.
Downstairs in the pleasant breakfast room, we were surprised to find a printed menu with quite a few choices along with the standard full English. We chose a hammy cheesy eggy raft, which turned out to be a cholesterol bomb, with a large slice of toasted bread covered with back bacon, egg and melted cheddar cheese. It was very filling, and would have fortified us for many kilometres had we been cycling.
After breakfast we ventured outside and walked through the historic Barbican, the old part of the city that was not bombed in WWII. Most of the rest of Plymouth had been completely destroyed by German bombs. The weather was really awful, still foggy, with blowing rain and wind, so we decided to go to the National Marine Aquarium, built in 1998 and the largest aquarium in the UK. It was a relief to be indoors even though the place was crowded with families and lots of children. We took our time looking at the displays and tanks of fish in the four zones: Plymouth Sound, the British coast, the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Barrier Reef. On the way to and from the aquarium we passed the Mayflower steps, where the first pilgrims had embarked for North America. This area was also the departure point for convict ships headed to Australia.
The skies cleared somewhat in the afternoon although it was still very windy, and we walked on the Hoe, with its statue of Sir Francis Drake, who had departed from Plymouth to defeat the Spanish Armada in 1588. We noted quite a lot of damage to waterfront structures from the storms in February. For dinner we chose Hakka, a large, bright Chinese restaurant recommended by Rob, and had two good dishes—chicken with mango and wild mushrooms with asparagus--along with steamed buns and green tea. Just what we felt like. When we returned to the B&B, the clouds had disappeared and the wind had died.
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