Plymouth UK (England)

Plymouth is a major port city located on the south coast of Devon, England UK. The port is approx 60 km (37 mi) southwest of Exeter and approx 310 km (190 mi) southwest of London. Port Plymouth UK (locode GBPLY) is located between the mouths of Plym River (to the east) and Tamar River (to the west). Here they both join to create the boundary with Cornwall.

By population (around 260,000) the city is ranked UK's 30th most populous and South West England 's 2nd-largest (after Bristol). The Port has two namesakes - in New Zealand (New Plymouth) and in the USA (Plymouth Massachusetts).

To the west of Plymouth is HMNB Devonport - the UK's and Western Europe's largest naval base. The other two Royal Navy bases are HMNB Portsmouth and HMNB Clyde. The abbrev "HMNB" stands for "Her Majesty's Naval Base".

Current-day Plymouth City's economy is primarily based on seafaring, shipbuilding, services. Car and passenger ferries link to France-Brittany (St Malo and Roscoff) and Spain (Santander).

In January 2018, Port Plymouth became Devon England's second port (together with Torquay/Torbay) on the list of UK cruise ports. The Port officially announced joining CruiseBritain, and its ambition to become a major cruise ship travel destination by 2020. CruiseBritain represents cruisetour companies and UK seaports.

For season 2018, the cruise port had scheduled 5 ship calls - by two Phoenix Reisen liners (Artania, Amadea) and Seabourn's Seabourn Ovation (2018-built).

The settlement was founded by the Romans as a trading post. The village (as Sutton) was established in the 9th century. During the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840), the town grew as a major commercial shipping port that handled passengers and imports from North America as well as exports of locally-sourced minerals (copper, tin, lime, arsenic, china clay). The neighboring Devonport became a Royal Naval dockyard and shipbuilding site.

In 1914, three neighboring towns (East Stonehouse, Plymouth, Devonport) merged into a County Borough under the name Plymouth. City status was granted in 1928. The city's naval importance led to its partial destruction during WW2 (1939-45). During the Plymouth Blitz (Nazi bombing raids in 1940-44) the downtown was completely destroyed.

Plymouth UK cruise terminal