Living History

Our accommodation in Plymouth was a fort! This was the fourth and final Landmark Trust property of the gap year. Crownhill Fort was built in 1860 as part of the land defences of Plymouth’s naval base, and used by the military until the 1980s. Now it is owned by the Landmark Trust and part of the officers’ accommodation is a holiday let, while other buildings are occupied by various businesses. We had fun exploring outside on our first evening, and were treated to watching an old field gun being fired as a group of army cadets were having a guided tour.

In our quarters , the officers would each have had one of the large rooms off the long corridor either side of the ‘mess’ which overlooked the tunnel leading into the fort. This is now, appropriately, the kitchen and dining room. The officers’ rooms provide a sitting room and three bedrooms sleeping eight in total. Although there is no accessible bathroom, it was perfectly adequate for us as we carry our own hoist and changing table along with all the other paraphernalia which accompanies Racheal when we travel.

We made the most of the nice weather on our first day to visit Plymouth Hoe, look at Seaton’s Tower (an old lighthouse) and go to the Mayflower museum. The Hoe boasts a good sized free car park for Blue Badge holders which we were pleased to make use of. After a pleasant walk, listening to the sea and admiring the view, we briefly went into the city centre. We didn’t find it very inspiring, apart from some fountains in a small park, so returned to sit on a bench overlooking the sea for our picnic.

The Mayflower Museum was on the quay in the old town and that is where we spent the afternoon. A full sized replica of a similar ship was moored in the harbour, but unfortunately we couldn’t go aboard.

On our second Plymouth day, we explored the old town a bit more visiting small shops and meeting some very friendly volunteers in the RNLI shop. Then we went to the other end of the city to look at Royal William Yard. This is an old Royal Navy victualling yard which has been given a new lease of life with shops, restaurants and housing occupying the listed buildings. There wasn’t much open, but it was fun to imagine the old ships stopping here to stock up on supplies like salted beef, ale and ships biscuits, all of which were made on site, before setting off for battle.

On Friday morning we loaded the car to move on to Penzance, stopping at Cotehele on the way. This lovely house, garden and estate are cared for by the National Trust. There’s also a quay on the river and a watermill, but we spent too long exploring the house and gardens to visit the other areas. Inside the house we found the hall, kitchen and small dining room were accessible, but Summer and I had to take it in turns to explore the rest of the house including the chapel, inside toilet and a peep hole from the master bedroom to the hall below. A medieval prosthetic arm was a particularly interesting exhibit, this one a replica of the original which apparently has gone rusty!