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Location:
Europe,
United Kingdom, Plymouth
Category:
Coastal view
Description:
View of Plymouth Sound from Staddon
Heights
Location Information:
Plymouth Sound, or locally just The
Sound, is a bay at Plymouth in
England.
Its southwest and southeast corners
are Penlee Point in Cornwall and
Wembury Point on Devon, a distance
of about 3 nautical miles (6 km).
Its northern limit is Plymouth Hoe
giving a north-south distance of
nearly 3 nautical miles (6 km).
The Sound has three water entrances.
The marine entrance is from the
English Channel to the south, with a
deep-water channel to the west of
the Plymouth Breakwater. There are
two freshwater inlets: one, from the
northwest, is from the River Tamar
via the Hamoaze and Devonport
Dockyard, the largest naval dockyard
in western Europe. The other, at
northeast, is from the River Plym
disgorging into its narrow estuary,
Cattewater harbour between Mount
Batten and the Royal Citadel.
In addition to ships of the Royal
Navy, large commercial vessels,
including ferries to France and
Spain use the Sound from Millbay
Docks. Fishing vessels use it from
Sutton Harbour beside the old town
of Plymouth, called the Barbican.
There are marinas at Sutton Harbour,
Mount Wise in the Hamoaze and at
Turnchapel.
In the centre of the Sound, midway
between Bovisand Bay and Cawsand
Bay, is Plymouth Breakwater, which
creates a harbour protecting
anchored ships from the frequent
south-western storms. The breakwater
is around 1,700 yards (1,600 m)
long, stands in around 11 metres /
36 feet of water and was built by
John Rennie and Joseph Whidbey
starting in 1812. The breakwater has
a 23-metre-tall (75 ft) lighthouse
on its western end and a
9-metre-tall (30 ft) beacon with a
spherical cage on top at the eastern
end. It is said that the cage is a
lifesaving device designed to keep
wrecked sailors from drowning in the
huge waves of a storm on the
low-lying breakwater.
Local
Weather:
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