The Knowhere Guide

Best and Worst in Plymouth, Devon*

Plymouth, Devon Triumphs and Tragedies

Favourite Building

• Smeaton's Tower and The Citadel (never been inside The Citadel but it is an interesting historic building and rather decent to sit by on the bank on East Hoe.
• The wonky old Southwest Railway Offices building on The Barbican
• dance academy
• My house
• Pilgrim Halls of Residence
• How it used to be down in the Barbican
• if this includes landmarks n stuff then the sundial
• hmm....it would have to be one of the university buildings, its new and made mostly out of glass....must be a bugger to clean.
• Crownhill police staition looks like a nazi HQ- very imposing!
• Royal Albert Bridge - it's old but it's awesome.
• The Theatre Royal and most of the Barbican.
• It has to be the new Home Park!!! What an awesome spectacle!!!
• The Crescent on the Hoe (just like the one in Bath)
• Crownhill fort is my favorite, the most well preserved inland(albeit only two miles inland)fort in engaland, and so descreet you can drive past it on the busy tavistock road every day and still not realise that it exists-genius!
• the newly refurbished and completly changed odeon building.
• the Lido on the Hoe
• Devonport High for Boys
• Smeatons tower and war memorial on the how, also the New Palace Theatre on Union St, NOW ACADEMY!
• the theatre royle has to be the best building built in plymouth as the hall ways in the building are so small and it's so easy to get lost in the building as well as ive learnt on some occasions
• Devonport Guildhall - The best of the old architecture that survives here. I love Devonport, especially the buildings in Ker Street. Designed by Foulston, they contain a 124 foot column, celebrating the renaming of the town from Dock to Devonport in 1824, and a lovely Egyptian House! Wonderful!
• SPACE nightclub
• TRAMP HANG OUT
• Ummm....probably many of the older, quainter buildings on the Barbican.
• the church on Charles Crossround about. It was bombed in the war and is still standing, as a great memory.
• why did they destroy freedom fields?
• Ever wondered who lives in those tall, white row of sea front buildings on the Hoe. Me too. But they will always be my favourite building.
• civic centre(fit skaters)
• The Union Inn pub.
• The maccy-dees drive-thru
• DHSG
• union rooms (wetherspoons) bought my BMW from there, and now i get pissed there (locals will now wot i mean)
• University of Plymouth Students Union.
• Smeaton's Tower I used to climb up here when I was little, back in the 1950's.
• Montpellier school, local hangout.
• There is one on the Barbican opposite the Quay Club along from the Maritime but I have no idea what it is.
• The Skate park!!
• civic buildings

Demolish It Now Building

• New Drakes Circus. Afwul beyond words.
• Civic Center ....(And you can leave the damn Civi's in it while she goes down!)
• Bretonside bus station which is surely one of the most ugliest welcomes to a city in England. Concrete, dingey, graffitied and more piss-stinking alleys than you can shake a leg at.
• Drake's Circus Shopping Centre
• THE LACOSTE SHOP AT THE BOTTOM OF TOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• the new shopping centre
• That new thing near staples (drakes circus) whilst youre there give staples a hit as well
• Devonport High School for Girls
• The Esplanade, or fix it up Plymouth.
• Mary Newman
• Gillwell Halls of Residence
• most of Plymouth
• The pavillions - it needs to be rebuilt with a bigger stage so bigger bands and celebs will use it to do shows. Centrail Park - you built it a couple feet to small to be a olympic swimmming pool, so whats the point in using it now? build it again!
• Mary Newman Hall of Residence.
• New noddy housing estates - built like shit, last for about 10 years. I.e one built on Freedom Fields Hospital site
• Mary Newman Hall of residence.
• The whole of North Prospect council estate, biggest dump in england which used to be nice back in the 50's. Also the civic centre and Pavillions
• Civic Centre, 'cos it sucks.
• STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES STAPLES
• Most of the city centre shops. It's gross, sterile, post war building. I hate shopping there. A lot of it was bombed but the city planners could have built around the existing buildings instead of demolishing them and starting again. The mall at Plymstock. Even worse than the city centre shopping centre.
• Destroy Somerfield on Mutley Plain. It glows in the dark. What a foul colour it is! Destroy it or do something!!! Oh and destroy Parkside school!
• Destinys, Candy Store, Zanzibar, Heroes, swillenium(the millenium complex) and any other other places that play shit music (dance etc) that is also full of townies.
• Bretonside bus station
• staples....it just doesnt fit in with the surroundings at all!!!
• All of union street.
• The new Casino complex being built on Derry's Cross
• Civic centre
• The high street needs to be flattened and entirely remade, the Civic centre should be modernised
• Plymoco in Devonport Road Stoke. The worst shop I've ever been in.
• we should demolish pavilions as i is just totaly shit the great arena is not so great. the swimming pool is a padaling pool, the ice rink is tiny and the prices are exstatuenite well what do you expect of a conservitve run council building.
• Most of the City Centre, because it's badly planned. The BUS STATION at Bretonside! Get rid of it and start again, it's an absolute nightmare!!!!
• The Armada Center ( i think theyre in the process of knockin it down anyway )
• Staples
• FUKIN EM PALACE
• All of Plymouth town centre...oh, and the Millenium Complex.
• the car park opposite Charles cross round about. It has concrete cancer and is the uglist building in the city.
• Not a building as such, but please sort out St Budeaux. What a dump.
• crown court
• Civic centre. Drab, grey, shite.
• The new 'Staples' complex- crap.
• The new Staples building. It's a mess.
• Plymouth Uni or should I sat 'the Poly'
• DHSB
• most of plymouth center, just kidding, only union street.
• The central library, its way out of date, and far too small, staff are nice though.
• Marjons Uni. (College of St. Mark & St. John) - W*nkers!
• Drakes Circus...they should never have taken down the red-brick "Guiness clock"!
• Odeon
• The whole of the city centre. A bland, unimaginative concrete wasteland, blighted by muddy craters that were once flower boarders and diesel soaked walls. Whoever designed this monstrosoty after the war must have had Waaaaaayyyy too much cider.
• My school, devonport high!
• chicago rock cafe
• The Civic Centre. What is that all about? I think the only good purpose it serves is for people to abseil down and raise money for charity. It is hideous and needs to be flattened now.
• Most of them, as they were all built too fast after they were flattened last time !

The Best Things

• Sea, weathers not to bad.
• www.abandonhope.co.uk
• West Hoe Park - excellent place to play footy.
• Plymouth Punx Picnic www.myspace.com/plymouthpunxpicnic The Odd Ball www.myspace.com/oddballcabaret
• A band on Hope
• the rain
• It's possible for Plymouth to host events on a large scale without the rest of the country really knowing about it....see "Cultrual Vibes" Plymouths best kept secret....for a while :)
• The sea
• The people
• The students, the nightlife, the accent
• Women!
• the people on the street that give you money,the sundial and the general warming glow that you get whenever you see someone being mugged or are just in mcdonalds having a milkshake full of sperm
• So many different atmospheres for the different people
• If you say you're from Plymouth, people assume you live in a nice place.
• Located close to Cornwall and its magnificent areas, but is a substantial city with much to offer on your doorstep.
• Plymouth Argyle, pubs and clubs 400+ loads of em! The views, the history, the barbican, the people and most of all the fact that its now redeveloping itself and charging into the 21st centuary with great new shopping centres, promanades and city center residential blocks and soon to be the place to be in a couple of years!
• Saturday nights on the strip, the Hoe in the summertime, being so close to the moors and the sea. Fistral is only an hour away.
• i have heard many people complain about the buildings in plymouth built after the war, but after living most of my life near coventry i can assure you that they are not that bad!
• Late night shopping is always good especially when there's free popcorn being given out! Green Army!!!
• Places that play good music punk, metal and any other alternative. and of course the sk8ers and metallers.
• people are friendly. plently of cheap places to go out and drink...(Ive managed to go out and spend only £2 before and get completly hammered!!!
• A colourful history Plenty of sports shops The Barbican Dartmoor close by The Hoe Friendly people Best chip shop ever (Platters on the Barbican, eat in for the freshest fish you are likely to get) Warmish weather from march to october and only slightly bitter november to feb A lack of agressive beggars
• The sea on one side and the moors on the other
• Dartmoor being so close,It's so beautiful. You can manage to escape from Plymouthians up there.
• By the sea. By Dartmoor. Easy commute. University.
• the best thing about plymouth is that it's right by the sea and the moors. a real good thing about plymouth is that when you say where you're from people look at you confused as they've never heard of plymouth. plymouth has a good mix of people, places to go and things to do.
• Devonport! This is a happening place! Sadly much overshadowed by the City Centre! But great things are happening here! It is really, really buzzing in Devonport! Pop down and see for yourself!
• The LADS!
• CUNTS TITS DRINK AND DOPE
• Cornwall is across the river, and Exeter is just up the road. Get a bus outta town, but don't be too worried where it goes- so lon as it's far away from Plymouth.
• Plymouth has the best shops around, and the best night clubs. Everyone knows everyone else and its so friendly.
• Jumping off the cliffs into the rock pools alongside the Hoe pool in the summer. So they weren't that clean but meant you could throw your bag over the fence and climb into the paying baths.
• fucking amazing place to skate anyone can get served in certain shops.
• The U.K Fireworks competition!
• Going to Cuba for a beer in summertime when the students are spilling out onto the pavement
• close to beach. larger city than people expect, 250000 people live here
• The students! Real people in Plymouth for a change!
• It's the correct side of the Tamar!
• Peverell, full of top babes. always have a laugh in peverell, down the box down ham and the legendary phone box. loadsa gals, quality.
• Sleeply hollow feel of things. Countryside on your doorstep
• The fantastic trails, street and skatepark scene amongst skaters and BMXers
• Beatiful women
• The countryside, the people. Plymouth is getting there at last. Loads of new pubs, clothes shops are springing up at long last. The weather is a major bonus as well.
• The laid back, friendly atmosphere of the place, theres no where like it in the summer.
• Its Great !!, Student life, chill atmosphere, close to cornwall....etc.
• The summer, beach parties; good beaches for surfing nearby.
• Loads of off-road cycling paths Moors, Plymbridge.
• Near the sea, Loadsa skaters, Nice peeps, etc.

The Worst Things

• Apathy of people. Not open to new stuff and the like. Even the students are a bit daft.
• Putting up with a Nanny State....Urgh.... it hurts!
• The amount of chavs out every weekend.
• chavs
• Many local bands in Plymouth
• argyle footy club and fans
• Idiots with money on their minds who take over venus thinking that they can improve them while actually destroying the good vibe the clubs/venus have built. See: The Cooperage....The Warehouse...Sound Factory...The Quey Club.
• The PC shop on the ridgeway, bad attitude, im only a week old woman how do i know the whats me a call it, does not go in the thingmy bob.
• Everything else
• The weather
• In breads from Cornwall
• The masses of construction work in the centre of town. From my Halls of Residence, I can SEE the centre of town. What should be a 5 minute walk is currently a 20 minute walk because of all the diversions. It should be finished by about 2009. Gveat -I'll be dead by then.
• Cant pull em' cos i got a missus!
• The weather is always grey the sky is always GREY!!!
• Janner boy racers, Burbury types, Elizabeth Duke wearing girls, Gold is not cool or attractive, spitters, Litterers and Boys on the lash
• the fact that they are demolishing the sundial
• Swills
• The shittest school ever to hit england, one day i shall smash down John Kitto school wiv a bulldozer. Full of pikeys and kevs. nothing else bt a prison for losers.
• Windchill factor makes it feel colder than it is. Union Street is a haven for thugs.
• The Local Council
• Union Street is more of a boxing ring than anything else, on a Friday/Saturday night.
• The fact that the city centre isnt in the centre its in the south western part and hard to get to if you live in the north of the city. The massive number of council estates! Stonehouse, its a very historical area with great architecture and old roads but currently inhabited by theives,druggies, homless people, scallys, 16 year old mothers and violent young men!
• Saturday nights on the strip. Boots, Matelots and Swillyites on the lash and out of control! People who slag Janners; we were born here, we belong here, it's our home. If you don't like it, don't come here.
• Daniel Davies-What a tosser he is. Southway-Absoulte shithole.
• Daniel Davies-What a tosser he is. Southway-Absoulte shithole.
• The city centre around Mayflower Street and Cornwall Street. The fact that everything is centralised. Nothing much goes on in the suburbs unlike in other cities and shopping is very basic in the suburbs.
• Need it be said - Swilly kids with their burberry hats. They look like cheap imitations of Blazin' Squad. Don't stare too long or they'll spit at you and get their endless list of yobo cousins on your case! JFK's on a Friday night cos its like something out of the living dead!!! Bloody awful!
• Townies and the young sheep who think their alternative but just are copying us coz they think its kool.
• SWILLY!!!!!!!!! every decent place in plymouth has either swilly (north Prospect) or efford (another area just as bad as swilly) connected to it or else a series of council homes contained the most uncontrollable children who are just pure evil!!!
• The violence on union street A lack of decent pubs
• The mingers out on union street with awful tattoos on their chicken wings with the names of their 5 kids they had before being 18
• The Plymouthians. If they can't get things off you by fair means then they will go all out and use any tacticts available. The ignorance of Plymouthians never ceases to amaze me along with their sad lack of morals and any sense of decency. I've lived here for ten years and constantly have been told to go back to my own part of the country, now I admit defeat and am moving back North amongst decent people.
• Plymouth "University" students that come down from up north, not realising that it is blanantly a POLY still, thinking they own the place and hanging out in Cuba and Ride pretending that they surf. And what's with those hoodies they all wear?! Is it really that good a thing to advertise to people that you don't have enough points to go to a proper uni?!
• Plymouth "University" students that come down from up north, not realising that it is blanantly a POLY still, thinking they own the place and hanging out in Cuba and Ride pretending that they surf. And what's with those hoodies they all wear?! Is it really that good a thing to advertise to people that you don't have enough points to go to a proper uni?!
• PEOPLE DOWN HERE ARE TOTAL TOSERS... I HAVE LIVED HER FOR 2 DAYS ..AND I FUCKIN HATE IT.. EVERYONE ARE FUCK UPS ..AND ARE NOT FRIENDLY AT ALL....THEY ALL THINK THEY ARE SO HARD AND UP IN YOU FACE ...WELL THEY SOULD GO TO WHERE I USED TO LIVE AND THEY WILL SEE WHAT HARD IS....AND IF YOU LIVE IN PLYMOUTH CHANGE YOU FUCKIN ATTITIDE
• Lack of good job opportunities. Not London. Not Manhattan.
• the worst thing about plymouth is the amount of do gooders they think the're so right all the time. the people who say theres a drug epidemic in the city have it wrong as they paint the city as a crap place. the worst thing about this city has to be how we treat our older residents they kept us british and we should give them the respect they truely deserve
• Plymouth City Centre!
• WE NEED MORE SHOPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• People walking ound town talking to themselves
• TOWNIES , KEVS ,SHAZES
• The locals are the most ignorant and unfriendly I have ever had the misfortune to meet. They barge forcefully into you without apologising, and glare at you hatefully like they are deciding on the most painful way to murder you...kinda reminds me of Deliverance.
• The city is a chav-universe. There are too many annoying skaters aswell.
• Why does it rain everytime I go down to Plymouth for a visit?
• narrowminded people that frown upon anything associated with antisocial behavior. skating is prothibited in the city centre, not that we listen if ur coaght skating at civic there is a fine but noone has been as far as i know, u get moved along alot though.
• Inhabited almost entirely by mulet haircuts, hawaiian shirt wearers and karaoke bars. If you want to take a step back to the eighties then Plymouth is the place for you. Honest....you have to see it to believe it!!!
• That load of toss that is frequented by tourists and vermin, the waste of money that is the Sun Dial. It sucks!!! The amount of traffic lights (it must be a Guinness record) and speed cameras. The Barry boys who spoilt the strip on the Hoe by being t**ts in an XR3i. Anyone who uses the word Janner! You either moved to Plymouth, study there or work there you dumb shit and it was down to a choice you made! Live with it.
• The Poly
• The fact that the entire city is GREY all year round, and the students who wear uni hoodies - why are you pround of attending such a crap uni?
• destroyed by germans during the world wars, so buildings are all the same and boring,
• The really big scary arch bridge/viaduct near Penny Come Quick - At night it drips water constantly and scares the willies out of anyone who walks under it.
• the local "Janner" 14 year olds with the basin haircutsand horrible accents.
• The Cornish are just across the river Tamar!
• swillyites, watch ur valuables
• The ignorant locals. they are either rude or indifferent. Supporting Manchester United and letting their home team of Plymouth Argyle die a slow laborious death doesn't show much character either.
• Swillies
• The accent is a bit nasty but the worst thing has to be the level of driving. It is absolutely shocking. London/Birmingham are great compared to Plymouth. I have been cut up and had to swerve out of the way because of DRIVING INSTRUCTORS. Not pupils, but instructors and that is no lie. Plymouthians don't seem to know who has the right of way at roundabouts either. Sort it out cos if you hit my car I will have to kill you!!!!!!
• Everything is made of concrete
• The trouble on Union Street when all the clubs kick out - beware, lager louts and sailers!!
• The local inbreds !.
• Union Street: try not to stare at gangs of lads unless you're hard. The football hooligans/general townies. Persistant beggars.
• Skaters sometimes get hassle when skating on the Hoe, skaters maybe fined...(bollox more like-no-one has yet, even the ones stopped!!)

The Knowhere Guide started out as a list of places to skateboard in the UK. It is a compilation of (unedited) information and views supplied by users like yourself. It is not a conventional tourist guide!

In most cases, the information in each section has been submitted by more than one contributor (the credits at the bottom of the page list some, but not all, of the contributors) and some of it dates back to the 1970s.

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Credits

Last updated: 2008-05-15