Plymouth's 1980s exhibition: what is actually on

If you have been keeping an eye out for a new exhibition called 'Plymouth's 1980s in focus', it is worth knowing that there is nothing currently running by that name. The closest thing is an older show, 'Plymouth in the 1980s', which the Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery put on back in 2019, curated by the Plymouth Photographic Society. It ran from 19 September to 16 November, was free to get into, and sat within a wider 'Plymouth in Focus' series, so if you have seen a listing floating around, it is likely a ghost of that one rather than something you can book tickets for this week.

That said, the museum itself is still very much open and free, which makes it an easy drop-in. It sits at Drake Circus, PL4 8AJ, on North Hill, opposite the University of Plymouth and next to the Central Library, with the main entrance on North Hill. It keeps regular hours, Tuesday to Friday 10:00 to 17:30 and Saturday 10:00 to 17:00, and there is a shop and a café on site if you want to linger. The current programme leans on the Cottonian Collection, with a series of short 'Art Bite' sessions that walk you through the sculptures, the oils, the porcelain, and the Atrium Gallery, alongside a lunchtime talk on the conservation of historic furniture. None of it costs anything, so it is a low-stakes way to fill an hour or two.

If you are in the area for the day, the museum is only a short walk from the Hoe, the big open space that looks out over Plymouth Sound, Drake's Island and Mount Edgcumbe. Up there you will find Smeaton's Tower, the top of the 1759 Eddystone Lighthouse moved stone by stone in 1882, the Tinside Lido, and the Royal Citadel, a 17th-century star fort that has been continuously occupied since it was built. A bit further round is the Barbican, the cobbled district around Sutton Harbour that kept much of its character through the Blitz, with the Plymouth Gin Distillery, the Mayflower Steps and the National Marine Aquarium all within easy reach. The Merchant's House Museum is only 658 metres from the City Museum, so you could easily string a few of these together.

So, while there is no 1980s exhibition to catch right now, the museum is still worth a visit for what it does have on, and the surrounding museums and sites make it easy to build a proper afternoon out of it. It is free, it is central, and it gives you a decent look at the city's collections without needing to plan much at all.