The Hoe is a lovely green public space in the heart of Plymouth. With its fantastic views out over Plymouth Sound, and it monuments to past ages, it is a great place to spend time with a camera. I visit whenever I am in Plymouth, and enjoy capturing the various scenes with my Fuji cameras and lenses. All of the photographs in this blog were taken in the last two years during a number of visits. So today's journey is a virtual tour of this historic place.

Smeaton's Tower dominates the Hoe, and is a great place to view Plymouth Sound from. It was originally errected on the Eddystone rocks, where it served as the third Eddystone lighthouse between 1759 and 1877 and was then dismantled and rebuilt on The Hoe as a memorial to its designer John Smeaton in 1884. Now the intrepid tourist can climb its 93 steps and enjoy spectacular views in all directions. The tower's iconic profile, with its red and white stripes have been used to represent the South West of England in many publications over the years.

My first two photographs were taken with my Fuji X-T10 camera using my 18-55 lens at its widest setting (the banding on the one below is an artifact caused by resizing the picture for the internet and is not present on the original).

This picture shows some of the buildings that face the Hoe. I took it with my X-Pro2 and 90mm lens and was careful to include part of Smeaton's Tower in the foreground to give the buildings context.

Like other photographers I sometimes forget to photograph the small details when I am out and about with my camera. However on my most recent trip I noticed that the covered seats around Smeaton's Tower were made from ornate cast iron, so I set my 90mm lens to f2 and took the above shot.

Anyone who has visited The Hoe knows that this statue of Sir Francis Drake is actually on top of a tall plinth. Don't worry, I did not move it, I just shot it from a distance with my 100-400 lens while lying in the grass.

A few months ago a sweeping wave of red poppies was draped over the Plymouth Naval Memorial as a tribute to those servicemen who made the ultimate sacrifice while fighting. On the day that I visited it the sky was overcast so I decided to take a silhouette shot infront of Drake's statue.

This ornate building is a great place to sit and watch the boats from. I was careful to include Smeaton's Tower in the above shot, and then moved directly infront of it to show the whole building in the picture below, waiting for the bird to complete the image.

As the sunlight sparkled on Plymouth Sound the boats sailed backwards and forwards watched by me and a gull perched on a streetlamp!

Drake's Island makes a shapely backdrop to this picture of a yacht on a glittering sea. both pitures were taken with my X-Pro2 with the 100-400 lens.

As the sun set I walked back to Smeaton's Tower and photographed the following back-lit scenes with my X-T10 and 28-55 lens The Hoe is a a magnet to visitors of all ages and it was lovely to see them all enjoying being out and about in the dying light.

I sat on the ground and waited to see what would happen. Soon these children skated and scooted by and I had my first candid shot, quickly followed by the one of the older people below!

These two really enjoyed whizzing past me.

What a great place to play football, and I caught the action in front of Smeaton's Tower.

My final shot of The Hoe was also my last shot of the day, taken as the sun set just before I walked back to my car. It shows more people enjoying being out and about in this magical part of Plymouth.

If you have never visited Plymouth Hoe I suggest that you make plans to do so soon. Don't forget to pack your camera and be ready to take a variety of pictures. I know that I will be back soon and am already looking forward to getting more pictures.

Post Script

Please drop me a line to tell me what you think of my pictures, and do remember that high resolution digital copies of any of my photos can be purchased from me.

On Plymouth Hoe

Roy Adams

A Walk at Budleigh Salterton

Fun in the Sun at Bristol Harbour

Return Trip to Paignton Zoo

Overbeck's at Salcombe -Beautiful in Winter and Summer

@Topsham Reed Bed

Photographing Water Colours