Hoe Park

Attractions and facilities

• Awarded the Green Flag Award
• Bowling green (open from April until October)
• Car parking
• Floral displays (planted for spring and summer displays)
• Historic interest
• Memorials (Naval War Memorial, RAF Memorial, Armada Memorial, Drake Statue)
• Nature areas
• Panoramic views over Plymouth Sound
• Pavilion/changing rooms (for organised fixtures)
• Pitch and putt putting green
• Seating
• Toilets including disabled facilities
• Dog bins
• Friends Group (contact Parks Services for details)

The Hoe, where Sir Francis Drake completed his legendary game of bowls before leaving to defeat the Spanish Armada has become an obvious focal point for the city.

The Hoe has many superb sites including the Royal Citadel, Smeaton’s Tower lighthouse - rebuilt from its original base 14 miles out to sea, and the four and a half million ton granite and limestone breakwater, as well as a huge grassed area overlooking Plymouth Sound - one of the world’s great natural harbours.

With its spectacular backdrop, the Hoe, the city’s unique seaside area, has in recent years assumed a new role as the venue for a series of highly successful free music festivals and as a platform for the incredible British Firework Championships. Of course, nothing will quite compare to the British Grand Prix World Offshore Powerboat Championships for both spectacle and sheer excitement. See our what's on pages for further details.

View an aerial view and map of Plymouth Hoe and the park.

View our photo gallery to see images of Plymouth Hoe and surrouding area.

Back to nature

The limestone bedrock upon which the foreshore and Hoe park sit has been recognised as one of the best exposures of Plymouth limestone. The grasslands of the foreshore and Citadel environs support a diversity of species, which include key local species of Plymouth Bladder Campion, the Bulbous Meadow grass and the Plymouth Thistle.

Sensitive management of the banks where these species have been identified has enabled the growth of their range within the Hoe park to the extent we see today.

Continual assessment and review of grounds maintenance operations are undertaken to protect and expand these localised populations. Management entails mowing the banks once a year and the removal of the mown material in order to limit the nutrient content of the soil. This allows a diverse flora to result with no single species dominating.

An interpretation panel has been provided and regularly reviewed to increase public awareness of this special initiative.

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Location map