Drake's Island — Local services in Plymouth

Along with about 15 fellow outdoor instructors and support staff, I worked as there ‘78, ‘79, 80 for the Mayflower Trust - fully booked every week from April to late August with school groups, football club apprentices from Luton, Prison Probationary Service etal. There was a sea-cliff climbing wall, a round-the-island bouldering traverse with some extraordinary jumps, a Wayfarer was sunk off the pier (scene of evening jumping!) and the wreck hosted a vast array of life by 1980. A team of YOP’s built a huge boat shed and youngsters climbed on walls near to the main tunnel, abseiled off the in-situ crane, canoeing and sailing to the Breakwater, up the Plym and Tamar close to the original Ark Royal and her fleet moored in Devonport, Cawsand Bay and walking over Edgecombe Park. Hidden in the hill are ammunition tunnels we converted into mini-caving routes with escape hatches along the way. Hundreds of people enjoyed courses at the centre from schools across S and SW England with many memories hopefully re-surfacing from this wee speed through a fantastic life for the island - exclusive homes, hotels and the like would be to deny the citizens of Plymouth an exceptional piece of the city’s history which they should have access to...

The tour guide/custodian we had was very insightful and engaging and more than happy to answer any questions. If you're at all interested in history (not just Plymouth's) this is well worth the trip. We had gale force winds so strong we could barely walk and it was still one of the best days of our trip here. Children will love it (especially the dark tunnels and the cannons) and the few dogs on our tour were thoroughly enjoying exploring. This may be tricky for those with limited mobility as it's a decent walk and very uneven but long term plans for the island sound like it will be much improved as time goes on. We will definitely be heading back over if we're ever back in Plymouth to see the next part of this island's history. In short though Views: 10/10 Staff: 10/10. There are toilets on the island but these are the only facilities I recommend bringing a snack and a drink with you or even better a cup of tea. The boat ride over is relatively short but pleasant and takes you past a lot of...

I spent a weekend on the island with the rest of 'Hawke 29' from HMS Raleigh, as part of our RN basic training, waaaay back in the middle of Summer, '78! There was lots of messing about in the creepy tunnels, telling ghost stories, & generally being teenage lads! We also had a go at abseiling on the man-made climbing wall, where a few of us got wet feet at the bottom, as the tide was coming in! Great memories, from sooooo...