Fish, Fashion and Freshers - Head to Plymouth for a weekend chock full of great events

14th September 2017

Plymouth is the place to be this weekend, with a host of amazing attractions and events making it one of the busiest of 2017.

The annual Seafood Festival returns to Sutton Harbour and the Barbican for a sixth year and is expected to draw its biggest crowds yet, with cookery demonstrations from some of the South West’s most talented chefs, delicious food stalls and a packed programme of entertainment.

With the hilarious ImechE Cardboard Boat Race, the Rockfish Crab Fest and the spectacular Weekend of Wonders event at Royal William Yard Plymouth’s waterfront will be full of things to see and do.

The Weekend of Wonders promises two days of magic, mayhem and more great food stalls, not to mention knife and chainsaw jugglers, trapeze artists and stilt walkers.

Fashion lovers will be in their element at Drake Circus as the week-long Fashion in the City event reaches its finale, with fantastic catwalk shows featuring the Autumn and Winter collections of High Street favourites, designer outlets and students from Plymouth College of Art.

There will also be the buzz of new Plymouth University arrivals preparing for Freshers’ Week, as well as former students and their families celebrating at graduation ceremonies on the Hoe.

And with so many people coming to Plymouth there are some top tips for getting the most out of the weekend, including making use of the city’s great public transport and walking routes.

Councillor Glenn Jordan, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, said: “There really is something going on around every corner this weekend.

“We’re expecting large numbers of people to be heading into the city and we want to make sure everyone can enjoy the many delights on offer.

“We’d advise people to plan ahead so they can really make the most of the great fashion, wonderful food and drink, fantastic entertainment and events taking place, all of which are absolutely free.”

Nearly all parts of the city are linked directly to Royal Parade, which is a 10-minute walk from the Hoe. The number 25 bus runs from the city centre around the waterfront throughout the day until 6pm and a route map can be found at www.plymouthbus.co.uk.

For bus timetables and to plan your journey go to www.plymouth.gov.uk/bustimetables, call Traveline on 0871 200 2233 or visit www.travelinesw.com to.

Travellers can hop on and hop off bus services run by different operators with the great value Skipper Ticket – see www.plymouth.gov.uk/skipper.

Motorists are encouraged to use Plymouth’s Park and Ride services, which provide a quick and direct link to the city centre. Buses run every 10 minutes until 7pm. For more information click here

The city centre has a number of large car parks. For further details, including a location map, go to www.plymouth.gov.uk/carparks.

For Seafood Festival goers the Sutton Harbour car park and ferry will be open and running throughout the weekend. The ferry runs at quarter to and quarter past the hour from 9.30am to 6.45pmm from West Pier on the Barbican to Lockyer's Quay. The price is £1 for a single trip and £1.50 for a return. Children under five go free.

The Mount Batten Ferry will be running to and from the Barbican from 9am to 11pm. It departs Mount Batten on the hour and half hour and the Barbican at quarter past and quarter to. The price is £1.50 for adults, with children costing between 50p and £1 (or free if they’re under five).

The Royal William Waterbus will also be ferrying people across the water from 9am to 4.30pm, with tickets costing £3 for adults, £2 for children and £2 for bikes.

And the popular Plymouth Landtrain will be taking passengers to locations all over the city – from the Guildhall to the Mayflower Steps, Smeaton’s Tower to West Hoe Fun Park – every hour.

The landtrain will run between 10am until 3pm and prices are based on the number of stops. The full 40-minute tour costs £5 for adults and £2 for children, but a single stop costs £1.50 or £1 for children.

For details of times and locations see www.plymouthlandtrains.co.uk To find out more about any of the events taking place across the weekend go to www.visitplymouth.co.uk