Plymouth Hoe

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Plymouth Hoe from Mount Batten

Plymouth Hoe, referred to locally as the Hoe, is a large public space in the English port city of Plymouth. The Hoe is adjacent to the seafront and commands magnificent views of Plymouth Sound, Drake's Island, and across the Hamoaze to Mount Edgcumbe in Cornwall. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Hoe, a sloping ridge shaped like an inverted foot and heel.

Plymouth Hoe is perhaps best known for the fact that Sir Francis Drake is believed to have played his famous game of bowls there, just prior to his defeat of the Spanish Armada. A statue of Drake is erected on the Hoe for this reason.

A prominent landmark on the Hoe is Smeaton's Tower. This is the upper portion of John Smeaton's Eddystone Lighthouse, which was originally built on the Eddystone Rocks in 1759. It was dismantled in 1877 and moved, stone by stone, to the Hoe where it was re-erected.^[1]

Smeaton's Tower overlooks Tinside Pool, a unique 1930s outdoor lido which sits upon the limestone shoreline at the base of the cliff. The Hoe also includes a military parade ground, which is often used for displays by the Plymouth based Royal Navy, as well as for funfairs and open-air concerts.

Plymouth Hoe should not be confused with Hooe, an eastern suburb of Plymouth located beside Hooe Lake.