Exploring Plymouth's Industrial Heritage in Cattedown

When we think about Plymouth's waterfront, our minds usually drift straight to the Barbican or Plymouth Hoe. However, if you head further east along the coast, you run right into Cattedown. This corner of the city is often passed by, but it holds a mix of deep industrial roots and great views across Plymouth Sound. It forms an interesting leg of the Plymouth Waterfront Walkway, the 9.3-mile route connecting Cremyll Ferry over to Jennycliff.

Historically, Cattedown's landscape looked vastly different from the modern harbour view. The waterfront was once packed with industrial complexes, including Mabetts Worsted Mill, which stood near the present-day 71 Degrees restaurant until the 1950s, and Puritan Mills, which occupied the area where Village Landing now sits until the early 1970s. Below ground, the area's heritage goes back even further. Worth's Cattedown Bone Cave, discovered in 1887, is a protected Scheduled Ancient Monument containing Palaeolithic human remains alongside bones of extinct animals like lions, rhinos and hyenas.

From the shoreline, you get a clear look at the Plymouth Breakwater, the mile-long stone barrier constructed between 1811 and 1841 under civil engineers John Rennie and his son Sir John Rennie. Designed to shelter the harbour, the breakwater sits on underwater rock banks and features a white Cornish granite lighthouse at its western end, which has been lit since 1844.

Today, Cattedown offers plenty to do along the water. Queen Anne's Battery (QAB) serves as a bustling marina with 235 berths and is home to the Royal Western Yacht Club, alongside spots like the Waypoint Bar and Bistro and The Lower Deck Café for food and drinks. Nearby, the Barbican Leisure Park provides local entertainment options, including a 15-screen Vue cinema and Tenpin Plymouth Barbican, which features 26 bowling lanes, arcade games, laser tag and pool tables.