The West Country is full of areas of outstanding beauty and wonderful things you can do for free, and I have chosen Plymouth to give you an idea of some of the things that are available in that region. This outstanding city by the sea is well placed for a whole host of exciting activities, with its combination of sea, rivers, moors and stunning countryside. Walkers are particularly well catered for in Plymouth and its surrounding areas: Dartmoor National Park is one of the finest unspoilt landscapes in the UK, and the coastal footpaths offer some beautiful and memorable views. The Cornish South West Coastal Path, for example, runs through Mount Edgcumbe Park to the beaches at Kingsand and Cawsand and then on to Whitsand Bay and Downderry further along the Cornish coast.
The city itself should not be overlooked by walkers: the waterfront walkway, for example, offers many opportunities to explore the city’s rich history. Following the footsteps of heroes, you will visit famous landmarks such as the Mayflower Steps, the monument that commemorates the point where the Pilgrim Fathers set sail for America, and the Hoe. You can pick up on clues left by Sherlock Holmes and discover unexpected treasures such as lumps of gold bullion and a 10-tonne rhino. The route is ideal for families: it is easy to follow and suitable for people of all abilities. If you want a leaflet, you will have to pay for it, but the walk itself is free. You can get all the information you need, however, from a local tourist information centre.
There are many other interesting places in Plymouth and its surrounding areas that you can visit for free. Barbican Glassworks, for example, offers regular glass-making exhibitions and is open seven days a week. Yelverton Paperweight Centre is home to the Broughton Collection, a permanent exhibition of hundreds of glass paperweights made by glass artists from the renowned studios of Saint Louis, Baccarat, Caithness and Whitefriars, to name but a few.
The City Museum & Art Gallery, meanwhile, houses outstanding collections of fine art, porcelain and social and natural history, and is well worth a visit. If the weather is fine, why not visit some of the delightful gardens in the area? The Elizabethan Garden is set out in true Elizabethan style and is open daily all year. The Sensory Garden, meanwhile, has been designed especially for the visually impaired, but will enchant everyone, so remember to add it to your itinerary.
Plymouth also hosts many exciting free events, such as the British Fireworks Championships, where for two nights each year the skies over Plymouth Hoe are ablaze with glittering fireworks as fireworks companies vie with each other to put on the best displays. Other recent events have included the Plymouth Maritime Festival, the Formula One Powerboat Grand Prix, the Radio One Roadshow and the Plymouth Air Show. There are free concerts too.
The huge variety of attractions going on in Plymouth and the rest of the West Country will ensure that there will always be something to suit you, whatever the time of year and whatever the weather. For details contact either your local tourist information centre or the Plymouth tourist information centre.
