Millbay Docks

During the current pandemic I have probably walked further, and more often, than I have at any other time. In addition to the health benefits, you see so much more on foot. Walking also provides plenty of time for thought and reflection. Today my walk included Plymouth's historic Millbay docks. The Millbay area is undergoing major re-development and in recent years has changed beyond recognition. Brittany Ferries sail from here to France and Spain, though services are currently suspended. The vessel moored here at the moment is the Pacific Constructor, an offshore support vessel. Millbay docks have a long and interesting history. During the English civil war they were the only safe supply route for the parliamentary forces when the city was besieged by the royalists. In 1845 the SS Great Britain was moored here pior to her maiden voyage to New York. In 1914 Ernest Shackleton left here in his ship Endurance, when he embarked on his epic expedition to Antarctica. Two years earlier in 1912 most of the survivors from the Titanic were brought to Millbay after their ship sank in the North Atlantic, after hitting an iceberg. Lots of ghosts from the past to think about as you walk around the docks!