Plymouth..........Ummm, Yes , Well......

Now Plymouth is a strange attempt at a metropolis, that in actuality is a horrible concrete carbuncle that just happens to be stuck between the land and the sea right between two beautiful counties.

If you were to stand on the edge of the docklands and look west you can see cornwall, and this is actually a view worth celebrating, of course this is a huge swathe of real estate that is currently in the ownership of the Mod or the Royal navy or Babcock or something, surrounded by housing estates of poor repute and tower blocks of poorer design. However cross the river Tamar and look back east and the view takes a spectacular downturn.

Plymouth is a city of sorts. with all of the right ingredients. A fine historical prominence, a wonderful location surrounded by water and Dartmoor National Park, its people by and large are friendly accommodating and welcoming, but I am afraid that is about the sum of it. Its a bit like having the finest delicatessen ingredients cooked by a blind rat and served in a smelly old dustbin lid!

By and large from personal experience here with the local authorities I can see why.

The majority of the authorities probably take their disproportionately high salaries and use it to buy homes out in Tavistock and outlying areas, and so give up caring that the city they were supposed to be managing smells of piss and looks like shit!

There are some positives that can be found on the up side , but not many .

The historic Barbican - or whats left of it , is a wonderful little spot on the waters edge, but little it remains to be , and it is probably getting smaller as some sorts of vermin attempt to encourage its zeal as ' Britains Ocean City ' (apparently ) by slapping additions to a grotesquely modernized marina - that I personally would not moor my own boat up in even in the event of a hurricane!

But the historic Barbican that is currently being walled in does feature some interesting little galleries and shops. Some of the older crumbling buildings do lend it its antiquated charm, Many of these old buildings have suffered some degree of renovation and modernization and unfortunately been filled with that horribly fashionable Tapas food establishments, restaurants and wine bars but amongst all that Tat ( and yes unfortunately those bloody whistling fish and Rowsbury's can be found here as well- imitation art for imitation people )

There are still good old greasy spoon type establishments and brick a brac shops , local food retailers character pubs and genuine art galleries.

Even the late Robert Lenkiewicz had his home and gallery here for some time and even completed two wonderful murals on the exterior of buildings along the main through fare featuring the portraits of numerous local characters . Unfortunately these have fallen into a shameful state of ill repair , probably due to the artists controversial position with the aforementioned local authorities. ( Indeed it is well worth looking into the artist and his works , as an artist that found the time to concern himself with so much more than the mere production of naff pretty scenes for a simplistic majority )

Works by the prominent Beryl Cook and contemporary cartoons by Brian Pollard can all be found en mass in picture framers posing as genuine galleries. Yet small independent artists studios and galleries showing a variety of contemporary living talent still survive here. Original acrylic artworks and commissions can be obtained from the white lane gallery featuring the work of celebrated Artist Sue Wills. The Kaya Gallery offer a wide range of prints and originals by local producers, and many of the small bric a brac stalls and boutiques show a better range of Plymouths historic and artistic heritage than the city museum and art gallery combined ( however do check out the latter for a fine example of contemporary classical inspired architecture! )

Architecturally though the city is a mess, most of which is blamed on the bombings during the second world war some 80 years ago , when the luftwaffe managed to miss most of the prominents military targets ( despite the acres they cover ) and instead managed to focus most of their fury on a lot of near derelict and outdated residential areas , that were quickly rebuilt into a kind of prefab commercial centre in a hideously slap dash fashion . Running through this ill repaired commercial centre is its one saving grace . Plymouth actually has a stunning botanical reef that runs all the way from the train station to the sea front and Hoe area where the infamous Smeaton Tower lighthouse resides overlooking the tinside Lido, the best part about this linear oasis is that when you are in this very narrow corridor of augmented nature, by and large you cant actually see too much of the city and what it has become!  No shortage of coffee franchises and fast food outlets. oh there's also some manner of mall or something , but any self respecting consumer would steer well clear of this!

There was some effort to create a trendy little hotspot out of some derelict barracks to the west of the city as well , but as is the case with so many of these modern developments they have taken some wonderful architecture made up of old granite edifices , thrown millions of ponds at it , and simply marketed it as ' trendy inner city living ' but its really just a mortgage trap for those with more money than sense.

The university, the leisure facilities and transport links are all stuck somewhere between the past and the future with no real style or tact in their considerations.

North hill and mutley plain with its single remaining tree are now just student accommodations and supermarkets, filling old period town houses, with more extensions than gardens and wheelie bins as far as the eye can see. destined to be tomorrows slums. but follow the route north by road out of the city to the edge of Dartmoor National Park which although offering little in the way of commerce is a far better way to spend the day upon a visit to the region.