Plymouth Barbican - Devon - England - 4K Virtual Walk - October 2020

Join us for an evening walk around Plymouth Barbican in Devon. Our walk starts on Commercial Road with views of Sutton Harbour and finishes by The Mayflower Steps.

On our Plymouth Barbican walk we pass the Mayflower Steps Memorial, Cattewater Harbour Commissioners, The Mayflower Museum, The Harbour Seafood Restaurant & Takeaway, Crown & Anchor, Dolphin Hotel, The Navy Inn, Harbourside Fish & Chips, Barbican Pasta Bar, Barbican Cocoa Rooms, Barbican Post Office, Barbican Bakehouse, Whistlefish Barbican, Barbican Pasty, Little Barbican Boutique, The Queens Arms, Plymouth Gin Distillery, Barbican Steakhouse, Barbican Kebab & Pizza, The Ship, The Maritime Inn, Barbican Fabrics, Book Cupboard and The Cider Press.

Check out our other Plymouth walk here
   • Plymouth City Centre - Devon - Englan...  

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Plymouth is a port city in Devon, South West England, approximately 37 miles south-west of Exeter and 190 miles south-west of London. Enclosing the city are the mouths of the river Plym and river Tamar, which are naturally incorporated into Plymouth Sound to form a boundary with Cornwall.

Plymouth is known for its maritime heritage and historic Barbican district with narrow, cobbled streets. Sutton Harbour is home to the National Marine Aquarium. Also in the harbour are several marinas and a fish market, the Plymouth Fisheries. The Mayflower Steps are where the Pilgrim Fathers set sail for the New World in 1620. Establishing Plymouth Colony, the second English settlement in what is now the United States of America.

The Barbican is the name given to the western and northern sides of Sutton Harbour, the original harbour of Plymouth in Devon, England. It was one of the few parts of the city to escape most of the destruction of The Blitz during the Second World War. Two or three streets still retain some of the architecture of a historic fishing port. The Barbican has the largest concentration of cobbled streets in Britain, and contains more than 100 listed buildings, many dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries.

For centuries, the Barbican was home to Plymouth's fish market (now relocated to the other side of the harbour) and is still home to many fishermen. One of the oldest streets in Plymouth running north from the Barbican is New Street, which was formerly called Rag Street.

Much historical research and outreach work is done by the Old Plymouth Society and many of the oldest surviving buildings were restored and are still owned and maintained by the Plymouth Barbican Association.

The Plymouth Gin Distillery in The Barbican, Plymouth, England has been producing Plymouth Gin since 1793, which was exported around the world by the Royal Navy. During the 1930s, it was the most widely distributed gin and has a protected designation of origin.

The Barbican contains a variety of shops and businesses including the Barbican Theatre, The Mayflower Museum, the Elizabethan House, an old house built in the early 16th century, now used as a museum, the Plymouth Gin Distillery, the Dolphin Inn, the Harbourside Restaurant (voted as Britain's No.3 best fish and chips shop in the country) and numerous bars and eating places.

On the West Pier of Sutton Harbour stands The Leviathan, a large sculpture of an imaginary sea creature, made up of the parts of various marine animals and birds. It is the work of sculptor Brian Fell and is made from mild steel coated with copper paint and is 33 feet tall. It is known locally as "The Prawn".

Originally, Plymouth's fish market was on the quayside at The Barbican; a purpose-built market building was opened there in 1892. In 1995, a new building was opened on the other side of Sutton Harbour. The turnover of the market has increased from £250,000 a year in 1995 to a £19.4 million in 2015. The market now sells 6,000 tonnes of fish and shellfish annually, and is the second largest fish market in England. Around 40 fishing boats unload their catch at Sutton Harbour daily, but up to 70 per cent of fish sold in Plymouth arrives by road from other fishing ports in the South West of England.

The National Marine Aquarium is the largest marine aquarium in the United Kingdom, with around 400 marine species, including a deep tank holding 2.5 million litres (550,000 Imperial gallons) of water. The aquarium opened in 1998, replacing one at the Plymouth Laboratory of the Marine Biological Association, adjacent to the Royal Citadel.

Plymouth is an important centre for watersports, especially scuba diving and sailing. The Port of Plymouth Regatta is one of the oldest regattas in the world, and has been held regularly since 1823. In September 2011, Plymouth hosted the America's Cup World Series for nine days.