Top Hidden Gems Day Trips from Plymouth
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The top Hidden Gems Day Trips from Plymouth include The Box, Elizabethan Gardens, Beatle Bums, Tinside Lido, Devil's Point Tidal Pool, Drake's Island, Mount Wise and Devonport Guildhall and Column.
Plymouth wears its maritime history openly, yet plenty of its best corners sit just off the usual trail. Start in the city centre, where The Box gathers museum, gallery and archive under one roof.
A short stroll to the Barbican brings the walled Elizabethan Gardens, tucked behind old merchants' houses. Up on the Hoe you can settle into the Beatle Bums seat imprints or swim at the curving Tinside Lido below.
Follow the waterfront west toward Devil's Point and its tidal pool by the Royal William Yard, then look out to Drake's Island sitting alone in the Sound. Push on into Devonport for the open headland of Mount Wise, with its free pools and Scott Memorial, and the Greek Revival Column and Guildhall on Ker Street.
Everything here lies within a couple of miles of the centre, so you can wander between them on foot or with a short hop by bus. It makes for an easy, rewarding day of quiet finds close to home.
Here are eight hidden gems for a day trip from Plymouth.
The Box
Photo: N Chadwick via Geograph.org.uk
Visit The Box to see Plymouth's main museum, gallery and archive gathered into one set of linked buildings in the city centre. Opened in 2020, it ties the former city museum, the library and St Luke's church to a large modern extension.
The galleries run through art, natural history, archaeology and the story of the city, with big touring exhibitions and an archive study centre for research. Its standout sight is a row of fourteen restored ships' figureheads, hung high in the entrance hall to greet you as you arrive.
There is a cafe inside and an open public square out front, and entry costs nothing.
Elizabethan Gardens
Photo: N Chadwick via Geograph.org.uk
Step into the Elizabethan Gardens, a small walled garden hidden away behind a row of 16th and 17th-century merchants' houses off New Street on the Barbican. The Plymouth Barbican Association laid it out in 1970, in the manner of a Tudor garden and built into the ruins of old cottages, to mark 350 years since the Mayflower set sail.
Four linked garden rooms hold a box-hedged knot garden, a rose garden, a formal water garden with a round pool and a small lawn, along with a salvaged 17th-century doorway and a carved ship. It stays free and peaceful, an enclosed pocket among the old town.
Beatle Bums
Photo: David Hallam-Jones via Geograph.org.uk
Find the Beatle Bums tucked into the lawn of Plymouth Hoe, close to Smeaton's Tower. This is a row of copper seat imprints set flush into the ground, shaped so you can sit down in them and recreate a photograph of the Beatles taken on the Hoe in 1967, during the filming of Magical Mystery Tour.
The Cornish sculptors Thrussell and Thrussell cast the piece, and it was installed in 2015. When nobody is perched in it, the work lies almost level with the grass, so it is easy to walk straight past without noticing this quiet nod to pop history.
Tinside Lido
Photo: N Chadwick via Geograph.org.uk
Take a dip at Tinside Lido, an open-air seawater pool built into the shore just below Plymouth Hoe. This handsome piece of 1930s design opened in 1935, its semicircular basin around fifty metres across, ringed by fountains, tiered terraces and curved changing blocks and filled with treated seawater.
It fell quiet in the 1990s before reopening in 2005 after a careful restoration, and it now runs through the summer with an events programme alongside the swimming. A listed building in its own right, it looks straight out over Plymouth Sound, so the view is as much a draw as the water itself.
Devil's Point Tidal Pool
Photo: N Chadwick via Geograph.org.uk
Cool off at the Devil's Point tidal pool at Firestone Bay, a saltwater bathing spot right on the shore of Plymouth Sound. The tide washes in and out of it with each turn, and hardy cold-water swimmers use it through the year, with views reaching across to Mount Edgcumbe and Drake's Island.
Its open, exposed position means it takes a real battering from the sea, and it was repaired and freshened up in 2024. You will find it below the Royal William Yard at Devil's Point, a short walk on from the Hoe and one of Plymouth's more bracing places to swim.
Drake's Island
Photo: BB via Geograph.org.uk
Look out to Drake's Island, a small, rocky island sitting alone in Plymouth Sound and ringed by the walls of an old fort. It takes its name from Sir Francis Drake, and over the centuries barracks and gun batteries were raised here to guard the approach to the city.
Their remains still cover the island, long left derelict, and the buildings quietly weather behind the fortifications between the city and the open sea. The island has changed hands more than once in recent years and is closed to visitors at present, so for now it is best admired from the Hoe or the waterfront.
Mount Wise
Photo: Derek Harper via Geograph.org.uk
Head out to Mount Wise, a breezy headland and public park on the southern edge of Devonport, gazing over the Tamar estuary toward Mount Edgcumbe and the Royal William Yard. On the point sit the Mount Wise Pools, a free set of three outdoor swimming pools that open through the summer, with a cafe close by, and the large Scott Memorial, a listed monument to the Devonport-born polar explorer Captain Scott and his team.
A circular viewing platform opens up wide views, while old wartime tunnels run through the rock beneath your feet. The park stays open and free at all hours.
Devonport Guildhall and Column
Photo: N Chadwick via Geograph.org.uk
Seek out the Devonport Column and Guildhall, a pair of Greek Revival civic buildings on Ker Street designed by John Foulston. Both went up in 1824 to mark the town of Plymouth Dock being renamed Devonport.
The Column is a tall, fluted Doric shaft of granite topped by a viewing platform, reached up a long spiral stair, with views stretching over Plymouth toward Dartmoor. Beside it, the Guildhall, fronted by its Doric portico, has been restored as a community and events venue.
The Column is a listed building and opens for the climb on set days, so it pays to check ahead before you make the trip out.
FAQs
Are Plymouth's hidden gems free to visit?
Many are. The Box, the Elizabethan Gardens, the Beatle Bums on Plymouth Hoe and the Mount Wise Pools are all free, while Tinside Lido and the climb up the Devonport Column carry a charge. Drake's Island is closed to visitors at present.
Can you swim on a day trip from Plymouth?
Yes. Tinside Lido below the Hoe offers a restored seawater pool in summer, the Devil's Point tidal pool at Firestone Bay draws cold-water swimmers all year, and Mount Wise in Devonport has three free outdoor pools of its own.
How do you get around Plymouth's gems?
Most sit within a couple of miles of Plymouth city centre, so you can walk between the Barbican, the Hoe and the waterfront, with a short bus ride out to Devonport for Mount Wise and the Column.
Conclusion
Plymouth rewards anyone willing to look past the obvious, and all eight of these spots sit within easy reach of the city centre. In a single day you could take in The Box, wander the hidden Elizabethan Gardens, sit in the Beatle Bums on the Hoe and swim at Tinside Lido or the Devil's Point tidal pool.
Add the offshore silhouette of Drake's Island, the open headland of Mount Wise and Devonport's Greek Revival Column and Guildhall, and you have a day that mixes museums, gardens, sea swimming and history without ever straying far. Wear comfortable shoes, check opening days for the Column and the pools, and take your time along the waterfront.
From quirky public art to a listed lido, these are the hidden gems for a day trip from Plymouth.
