Plymouth UK
 

On my next trip to the UK, I've decided to go to Plymouth. I will probably make it a daytrip from London, haven't decided yet whether I want to drive or take the train. (On a previous trip I spent several days driving the Cotswolds, so I can handle driving on the wrong side of the road).

Is there enough in Plymouth to fill a day or should I pay my homage and head somewhere else close by? My interests are broad, I like nice scenery, historical sites and houses.

I'm expecting to visit in May 2011 (yes it's still a long way off, but anticipation is the next best thing to being there.)

Plymouth really isn't day trip-practical from London by train or by car. Trains take between 3 and 4 hours each way (depending on which train you catch)

And driving will take about 5 hours each way if you don't run into traffic.

Plymouth is among the most horrible examples of what the combination of Nazi bombing and postwar reconstruction can do to what was once an attractive town - though there's a great deal of competition from just about all our other major ports.

From central London, if you know your way out, it's just about possible to drive it in 3.5 hours starting early in the morning (outside holiday weekends, this is usually a susprisingly uncongested trip). Neither the car nor the train's particularly scenic. Compared to Liverpool or Portsmouth, Plymouth's got surprisingly little historical stuff on display. But, being on the Devon/Cornwall border, it's got terrific scenery nearby and the Tamar area (not necessarily Plymouth itself)is a great base for a few days' pottering round countryside and towns that offer all the things you're looking for.

A far better daytrip destination is Portsmouth, whose connection with Britain's maritime heritage goes back a great deal longer than Plymouth and covers far more, and is a painless fastish, frequent train from London. It's also the global centre of Sherlock Holmes studies. Though its immediate hinterland includes some of the worst-conserved countryside in Britain, really lovely country starts three miles inland, especially in the area between the Meon Valley and Winchester. A potter down in a car offers far, far more than you can fit into a day: the only slight drawback being that you have to park your car in Portsmouth itself. Though that's not too difficult, the act of finding a carpark exposes you to what probably would be the most hideous townscape in Britain, if it weren't for the fact that in Portsmouth they've actually demolished the worst brutality of the 1970s on the grounds of sheer ugliness.

The idea that the place was once even more hideous than much of it is at present is truly an extraordinary one. However, among the dross there's an amazing amount of real jewels - many of them remarkably attractive buildings and streets.

I'd agree that it's not a practical day trip from London to Plymouth but I would defend the city itself. Plymouth Sound is one of the most beautiful harbours in the world. The city was, it's true destroyed by Nazi bombing and the concrete of 1950s and 60s is much in evidence but the Barbican and Sutton Harbour retain an element of what it was like in the past. The Hoe has historical connections to Francis Drake and the Spanish Armada and is also a lovely place to sit and survey the Sound. Boat trips from the historic Mayflower Steps go across to the picturesque seaside villages of Kingsand and Cawsand with a beautiful walk through Mt Edgecombe Park to take the Cremyll ferry back to the city.
You'd find plenty to do for a few days but a day trip would be too rushed.

Thanks for the information. The trip is part of my idea of visitng towns in the UK with the same name that I've visited in the States. So in this case, I've been to Plymouth Mass, so a visit to Plymouth UK is the reason I'm going.

Tt simply isn't a day trip. If you have this urge to see Plymouth - take 3 or 4 days and visit other parts of Devon/Cornwall too. There are lots of towns in the area w/ the same names as places in New England.

Thanks. I am looking at reworking my trip so that I can spend a few days in the area.

Plymouth isn't a day trip from London.
It is a town I'm somewhat ambivalent about. It isn't the Nazis who are to blame for the town's architecture it is a post war combination of planning by the Navy and Local Councils that have left the place in such a mess. (much of the "regeneration" of Plymouth was in fact planned BEFORE WW2. ...and a lot of the ancient heritage was destroyed by planners not bombers - it's also somewhat debatable to say that Plymouth was "beautiful" before being bombed).

Back in the 1980s the Navy decided they would move out of Plymouth in favour of Portsmouth. This decision hasn't removed the Navy entirely from the town, but it has made the local authorities look at other reasons for the town to be there.
From their first tentative steps, they have now embraced the concept of Plymouth as a tourist detonation with both hands. The results are mixed.
The closing down of the traditional military recreation area of Union Street has led to the dissemination of drunks into the more "touristy" parts of the town (e.g. Tha Barbican) but the town as a whole still lacks a vibrant nightlife. Your can watch the newspapers roll down the streets at 10 pm on a week night.
Plymouth has a history and checking it out can be rewarding.

BUT - and this is the resin I can't ever see Plymouth as a day trip - the surrounding countryside and coast ca be quite stunning, from beautiful harbour villages to moorland and fantastic country mansion the list is endless and you really couldn't see any of that in a day.

plymouth markets it self as the "ocean City" - it is of course a massive centre for sailing and often hosts prestigious events (The America's Cup for instance..

Im with bellini and khunwilko on this, Plymouth Sound is breathtaking and the waterfront with its seaside reastaurants make it well worth the trip although I am not sure that I would trek all the way from London. I trek from Manchester about twice a year but thats with work, but blimey I dont half enjoy the place.