PLYMOUTH, England
Another day with our local hosts Rob and Vilma. Today they are taking us by car to Plymouth to spend the day.
The drive gave us a beautiful view of the hillsides and valleys of the Devon moors. As we approached the coast we had panoramic views of the water.
We stopped for a few minutes to walk along the boardwalk to look out toward Gilbralter
Taking a short cut through the city to the harbor we encountered a huge statue so we couldn't resist a photo opportunity.
The statue is named Messenger a woman in a crouching position huge bronze sculpture, believed to be the largest in the UK
Looking out over Plymouth Sound we had an amazing vista with Plymouth Castle on our left and Smeatons Tower Light house on our right. We did not have time to visit Plymouth Castle but the maginficent view we had makes up for the it.
Looking to our right at the lighthouse, we got a much better view of Gibraltor and all of the Harbor. I could stay here for hours enjoying the view and watching the calm harbor.
We walked around and down to Plymouth Harbor. Rob is an engineer and during his career was the designer of many structures in the city. His most recent was the design and construction of the sea wall around the inner Harbor.
At the harbor we were able to see the actual steps that the Pilgrims used to board the Mayflower to go to the new world. Mary Kay has been to Plymouth rock in the United States, so it was very meaningful to her to have been to both sides of the Atlantic Ocean where the Pilgrims set foot in 1620.
The Moors
On our way back to Paignton we took a detour through the Devon moors to a place where Rob lived for a summer when he was attending University. It was down a meandering road through the moors.
Because it was moving toward dusk and it was an overcast day, our ride through the moors took on a spooky feel with the grayish sky and the unusual topography. It reminded us of a scene from American Werewolf in London and the Hounds of the Baskervilles.
It seemed unusual to see the sheep and horses we saw on the moors were free to wander and crisscross the narrow road with no fences in sight.
Luckily, there were no werewoves or hounds on the moors that evening so we made it back to Paignton with out any problems.
