A beautiful Autumn day.

A fair breeze, sunny and warm, and virtually the whole of Plymouth Sound to himself.

Brrrrrrr

Although Summer has officially started,

only the hardiest swimmers can face the unheated water at Tinside Lido, on Plymouth Hoe.

And even one of them needs a wetsuit.

The Getaway Car

Early morning regulars

It doesn't seem to matter how cold the wind is, just as long as it is not raining too hard

 there will always be early morning customers at Valenti's, on the promenade on Plymouth Hoe.

Smile please.

My word, didn't they scrub up well.

Your never too old for lycra.

But I wish I'd brought the bike because walking around in these shoes is killing me.

Through a glass darkly.

I took these shots through the heavily tinted windows of the Penthouse Bar on the top floor of the 

Holiday Inn, Plymouth, on the opening day of the America's Cup Regatta.

Rapunzel

Do my feet look big in these?

Safe in their hands.

The Esplanade enjoys probably the best waterfront position in the city. At the highest point on Plymouth Hoe, it commands uninterrupted panoramic views of Plymouth Sound and the surrounding countryside of Devon and Cornwall.

 Looked at from the sea, it starts at the right with this house.

and ends with this recent development at the left hand end.







 I read the City Planning Department's mission statement with great interest. It is good to know that this is all part of careful strategy for harmonious development which is in the capable hands of a team of experts who write.

"Urban design draws together many strands of place making; it looks at an area as a whole - the buildings, the spaces around and between the buildings, streets and landscaped areas so that what is created is a place with distinct identity but which also works seamlessly with its surroundings.

Urban design is about creating a vision for an area and through dialogue and negotiation, that vision is realised.

By analysing existing places and the complex relationships between the various parts we can learn to recreate the positive qualities and avoid the more negative aspects, so as to create a stimulating, rich and exciting new environment."

The America's Cup - Watching from the shore.

You can always tell where the free hospitality bar is.



The view from The Hoe was great

but the Big Screen, with its coverage (in sound and vision) 

from the onboard cameras added  a whole new dimension to the experience

But some soon lost interest in the racing.

The America's Cup

This week Plymouth Sound is host to one of the most expensive sporting events in the world. The America's Cup Fleet has arrived from their last regatta in Portugal on this next leg of the world wide series of encounters leading up the the World championship in San Francisco next year.

There are nine, 45ft ft long, carbon fibre, wing sailed boats, each costing over £800,000. The operation travels on its own container ship, from which was unloaded not only the race boats but an entire tented race headquarters village together with a full-scale international sattelite TV communication centre.

Plymouth Sound is a natural amphitheatre and the racing has drawn large crowds who have seen spectacular capsizes in very high winds (Click here to check out Sunday's action) and highly skilled sailing when the crews have managed high speeds in light winds. These pictures were taken on Wednesday.

And at the line, the winner is.......

Me



The America's Cup

One of the most expensive sporting competitions in the world has recently dropped anchor in Plymouth.

Nine wing-sailed, 45ft carbon-fibre catamarans, each costing over £800,000, together with their world class crews, and all their support equipment and a legion of television crews, arrived from their last regatta in Portugal.

From 10th to 18th September Plymouth Sound is host to the British leg of the world wide series of regattas which will culminate in the World Championship in San Francisco next year.

The sound is a natural amphitheatre and spectators have been treated to some fantastic action as the weather conditions have changed daily. The first weekend saw very high winds, producing some very spectacular capsizes. Check out the action 

But on Wednesday, when I took these shots, the lighter breezes showed another side of the crews skills as they produced very high speeds in light winds.

Bed, Breakfast and Blooms

These four colourful B + B places are side by side, in a group of five houses in quiet a cul de sac facing

 Plymouth Hoe.





Dramatic Rescue

A lifesaving class in action at the Tinside Lido on Plymouth Hoe early on Friday morning.

This is an unheated sea water pool and it was very cold indeed.

Girl Talk

The sun came out again and the Waterfront is back normal.

Welcome to Plymouth ....

 ......and on a wet and windy Sunday in June you're welcome to it. At least you'll have it to yourself

Be careful what you wish for.

Yesterday, when I hoped for rain, I had in mind a gentle shower or two to green the grass and perk up the flowers.

But we got torrential rain and a howling gale.

I spotted this solitary figure battling against the wind and rain, as she crossed the Promenade on Plymouth Hoe.