Plymouth From Above - Aerial Surreal

Just before the closure of Plymouth Airport in 2011, we took the opportunity to grab a bird's eye view of Plymouth & the surrounding areas & view the many sites we have been documenting from the air. Something we had been wanting to do for a long while is see the forts & defensive structures from the air, to study how the landscapes have changed over time. We even managed to document some of the surrounding military & industrial landscapes including the former RAF Harrowbeer WWII airfield at Yelverton, & the vast moonscape looking China Clay pits of Lee Moor. Bring back Plymouth Airport, that's what I say!

Welcome to Plymouth!

Marsh Mills - atop the hill foliage conceals Efford & Laira Forts

Laira Bridge

Oreston & Radford Lake

Pre-flight I had mapped out a list of fortifications I wanted to capture from above, but it was only evident when we were a few hundred feet up that the task was going to be a tad difficult than planned. After all, this was my first experience of aerial photography, combine that with reading a map & a list from memory....it was worth the wait that's for sure. As soon as we reached the view of Staddon Heights, I could finally see the levels of fortifications that protected the the Eastern approaches of Plymouth Sound. Flying over the Breakwater we headed over to Mount Edgcumbe, into Cornish airspace to seek out the Palmerston Forts that protected the Western flanks.....we weren't to be disappointed.

Staddon Fort & Golf Club

Staddon Heights Defences & Bovisand

Flying over the Breakwater looking over Drake's Island, The Hoe & beyond

Fort Picklecombe - now a private estate stunningly converetd

The only downside to the flight was the low mist that you can clearly see in some of the photos, hence the low visibility in the coastal images. Flying over the Tamar Bridges was a great highlight, as was over our house (had to get a photo, you know the drill!) & seeing the way areas of Plymouth have developed comparing with our maps of 1890.

 The Tamar Bridge & Brunel's masterpiece - The Royal Albert bridge

A misty day over the Tamar

Agaton Fort nestled among the housing at Ernesettle

Crownhill Fort & a view toward the now closed Plymouth Airport

The huge clay pits of Lee Moor look amazing on the ground but above adds a totally different dimension, giving a true sense of scale. The bright blue pits of blue water surrounding the white clay look breathtaking, a man-made lunar landscape set amid stunning natural landscapes. It truly does make for phenonemenal viewing & it's right on our doorstep!

The stunning variations of landscape at Lee Moor

The Dewerstone

After flying over the Dewerstone, we headed directly for the former WWII airfield RAF Harrowbeer at Yelverton. I have documented RAF bases all over the UK but this was a first for seeing it as a fighter pilot would. I've walked the airfield many a time & always try pop in for a nice brew at Knightstone Tea Rooms where there is a fantastic archive on display.

Looking across Yelverton & the former RAF Harrowbeer airfield

Fighter pens at RAF Harrowbeer

The Rock & a WWII fighter pen

Then back to Plymouth & a sound landing to head off documenting another site on land this time. I for one, do hope that the Viable group can bring the airport back to life as I think there would be many Plymothians wanting to take the views in for themselves! What do you think?

Bring back Plymouth Airport!

Palmerston's Follies

Whether out on a boat in Plymouth Sound, walking the coastal path around Mount Edgcumbe or driving along the A38, you're not too far away from one of Palmerston's Follies, but what exactly are they & what were their purpose?

Picklecombe Fort on the Western Approach of Plymouth Sound

A ring of Victorian era defences surround Plymouth in the form of impressive looking forts & gun batteries, with some sites being remodelled from earlier Napoleonic fortifications. Those built within the era of the Prime Minister at the time, Lord Palmerston, came about after fears of a French invasion as reported in the 1860 Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom. Lord Palmerston championed the idea of strengthening coastal defences & harbours around the UK. It was a costly exercise - the greatest ever spent on building fixed defences during peacetime, & by the time of completion, advances in gun technology had rendered the forts out of date. Hence they became known as Palmerston's Follies.

Tregantle Fort - Still in active military use as a firing range

The Plymouth Defences were built with intention of defending the threat of a Naval assault by the French on Plymouth Dockyard. Any modern visitor to Plymouth via sea will often ask the question of what structures they are seeing as they enter Plymouth Sound. Picklecombe Forts lush apartment conversion greets visitors as they reach the Breakwater, where once inside, the impressive dark & daunting look of Breakwater Sea Fort & the mighty combined fortifications of Bovisand & Staddon Battery at Staddon Heights can be seen at their best. Further inland, Stamford & Staddon Forts complete the south-eastern side Reaching Drake's Island, Palmerston era additions can be seen in the form of an arc of stone casemates with protective iron shields that housed twenty-one 9 inch guns.

Breakwater Fort

Fort Bovisand & the earlier Staddon Heights Battery

Drake's Island Casemates

Plymouth's Northern Defences stretch from Efford Fort all the way to Ernesettle Battery overlooking the Tamar. Sandwiched roughly in the middle is Plymouth's best preserved Palmerston, Crownhill Fort which is now utilised by businesses & wedding venue with occasional open days to the public. All of the Northern Defences are occupied with businesses or Plymouth City Council in-situ with the exception of Ernesettle Battery which is MOD, & Agaton which is a VOSA Test Station.

Efford Fort to the left overlooking the North Eastern Approaches

Cannons in-situ at Crownhill Fort

Murder Hole Ditch at Efford Fort being reclaimed by nature

Agaton Fort Gatehouse - No Access

On the Cornish side around the Rame Peninsula, coastal gun batteries & forts snake the coastline from Garden Battery at Mount Edgcumbe to Scraesdon Fort at Antony & although some were lost to demolition in the 1970's, there has been excellent works to preserve their status from current tenants who look after the structures including the Rame Conservation Trust, Mount Edgcumbe Estate, Defence Estates, Ministry of Defence & all the owners of converted sites such as Cawsand, Picklecombe & Polhawn Forts & Whitsand Bay Battery which is now a holiday park.

Scraesdon Fort from above

The grand stone entrance to Tregantle Fort

Flooded moat at Scraesdon Fort

A handful of forts have suffered vandalism & theft in recent years including Bovisand & Drake's Island, which had renovation & refurbishment projects put on hold due to the recessions, but recent rumblings on the grapevine are positive & look good for the future. One things for sure If we won the lottery jackpot, we would certainly offer to buy it straight from the owner & reopen it to the People of Plymouth....a name? ooooh maybe Cultural Adventure & Heritage Centre of Plymouth....or is it forward thinking enough for the Plymouth vision of a modern city?......school trips, tourism, local produce brought to the island by boat, open days, jobs with old trade skills brought into much needed use....must...stop....dreaming! Oh & did you know that Drake's Island is actually the cap of an extinct volcano? Awesome history that Plymouth has don't you agree?

Thankfully some of the forts have been much better cared for & the conversions to apartments & holiday homes at Cawsand & Picklecombe Forts are stunning. Okay, so they may be a little out of our price range & we can't even afford a second home but we still appreciate their history & the imposing look these structures have. Polhawn Fort is now primarily a wedding venue, a place we considered for our own wedding, & in our opinion this has to be one of the best wedding venues in the South West. The time, money & priceless effort that has gone into the restoration of the fort is phenomenal & we will feature this in a forthcoming series on the blog.

Inside one of the immaculate bedrooms - Polhawn Fort

TV replaces the cannon - note the original racer rail for the cannon

One of my favourite spiral staircases - stunning workmanship

Over a series of blog posts, we will take a look at each site in detail, including the demolished gun batteries around Plymouth & the surrounding area. A strong focus point of our research will be to build a history of Military Units & stories from personnel who have their own memories of a particular site & we welcome any information of historic value. Graffiti from years back adorn many of the forts with units such as the Royal Marines, Royal Engineers, The Parachute Regiment & even the SAS. Feel free to get in touch if you recognise any of the graffiti featured in the forthcoming gallery - info@hiddenplymouth.co.uk

1939 graffiti from a Commando veteran

Until next time....another spiral staircase in a Plymouth Fort - we're off to see what's down there