Rockhoppas Return! A peak inside The Royal. The concluding part of our look at Plymouth Boat Tours. And more...
The Beagle on Friday November 13 2026
Plymouth’s most famous penguins are back, after public demand on social media.
A Rockhoppas show reel is teasing some of the much-loved characters that were first created in 2010 in a book entitled “The Adventures of Larry the Pirate" and cartoon strips that first featured in the Evening Herald for nearly two years in 2011/2012.
Creator Kevin Kelway told The Beagle: “My Rockhoppas began life as stories invented as a boy growing up on Plymouth’s historic Barbican in the late 1960s, 1970s, 1980s.
"The characters are larger-than-life Rockhoppas penguins with big personalities, big hearts and a very Barbican sense of humour."
Their stories captured imaginations far beyond Plymouth - spanning the South Atlantic seas, a Devonport-based warship, and Drake's Island, where they were granted Royal Status to make their home.
Now, after years of love and support from fans, the Rockhoppas are returning in a bold new form.
The brand-new clip (see below) gives audiences a first taste of what’s to come — the characters, the comedy, the music and the unmistakable Rockhoppas spirit, reimagined for a new generation while staying true to the stories that started it all on the Barbican.
In January 2027, www.rockhoppasfactory.com will launch — the new home of the Rockhoppas.
Fans can expect news, characters, stories, show updates, and exclusive behind-the-scenes content as the Rockhoppas Factory opens its doors.
Kevin told The Beagle: "This has always been about Plymouth, about community, and about characters people can love.
"The Rockhoppas are more than a cartoon they are a celebration of friendship, resilience, theatrical family cabaret, and home — told through penguins who never give up, who look after each other, and who always find their way back to Plymouth."
Watch the ShowReel:
£24million makeover on the cards for Theatre Royal Plymouth
Plymouth’s Theatre Royal is seeking an architect-led design team for a £24 million revamp with a three-year contract worth £750,000 being advertised.
The brutalist/modernist post-war designed structure was built in the late 1970s and last saw a refurbishment in 2013 when the front of house areas were refreshed and a new community performance The Lab space added.
It welcomes more than 300,000 visitors annually from across the region.
TRP chief executive James Mackenzie-Blackman told The Beagle: “As the theatre approaches its 50th anniversary, we want to ensure that the building is fit for the future and can continue to serve Plymouth and the wider South West for the next 50 years. As part of that work, we are beginning the process of appointing the specialist professional team needed to help us explore and develop our plans in greater detail.
“The full scope, programme and funding requirements for any future critical infrastructure works to ensure Theatre Royal Plymouth is able to serve its communities and the region for the next generation are still being developed and we will share further details as the plans progress.”
It is believed the theatre would close while the work is carried out - with The Beagle understanding employees and volunteers have been spoken to about the project. When the work would start, and whether an alternate performance venue is in mind for TRP remains unclear.
63 years since 1963 history - on this day the Beatles played The Royal
On this very day, November 13, 1963, Beatlemania came to Plymouth.
John, Paul, George and Ringo played two shows at the ABC Royal cinema and concert hall, bringing their autumn tour to a city caught up in Britain’s extraordinary new pop phenomenon.
The programme included She Loves You, I Saw Her Standing There and Twist and Shout.
But the evening’s most intriguing detail happened away from the stage. To avoid screaming fans outside, the band were ushered through the neighbouring Athenaeum and a tunnel connecting it with ITV Westward Television’s studios.
Sixty-three years on, it is a wonderful image: four young Liverpudlians slipping through Plymouth’s backstage passages as their fame took flight.
And it has more poignancy thanks to the ongoing efforts to restore to their former glories both The Royal and the Athenaeum.
This week The Royal opened its doors for a chance to look behind the scenes as the group trying to buy the lease and take over the building drums up support.
Chairman of the Plymouth Royal Cinema Community Benefit Society, Karl Parsons, told The Beagle they needed to raise the first £62,000 by December 31 to serve as a deposit on the building. The next phase would see a community share offer in 2027 to raise the next £500,000 to buy the building, and then longer-term funds for renovation and restoration.
"They just don't build them like this any more. There is something about this building, and if any building has a soul, then this is the one. It has a sense of glamour, and it has so much potential to be a vital part of the city," he said.
There is another chance to tour The Royal on November 30: details and tickets here
Scene on the Sound, by The Captain
Our retired Royal Navy Captain keeps his eyes on the horizon, and writes exclusively for The Beagle about the comings and goings in Plymouth Sound
There have been a couple of foreign visitors this week On Sunday morning, the Danish frigate, HDMS Peter Willemoes and on Thursday, the Belgian Frigate, BNS Leopold I.
BNS Leopold I is named for the first King of Belgium (1831-65). It is interesting that the Belgians are the only royal navy not to use the HxMS prefix. There are several historic reasons for this. Up until about 1800, the Royal Navy often used HBMS – for Her Britannic Majesty’s Ship. Thereafter, HMS became the Royal Navy’s standard prefix. Today, HBMS means His Majesty’s Bahamian Ship or His Majesty’s Barbadian Ship. The other reason that Belgium does not use HBMS is that the country has three ‘official’ languages – Dutch, French and German – so any prefix would have to work in all three languages. As NATO worksin English, BNS (Belgian Naval Ship) allows their navy to keep to one prefix without upsetting any of their linguistic lobbies. By the way, French is also an official NATO language, but no-one apart from the French (and very occasionally the Canadians, when internal politics require) use it.
BNS Leopold I is an elderly ship by today’s frigate standards. She was originally commissioned in 1991 as HNlMS Karel Doorman of the Dutch Navy. That makes her five years older than the RN’s oldest frigate (HMS Somerset). After 15 years service in the RNlN, she was transferred to the Belgian Navy and commissioned as Leopold I in 2007. She is quite a small ship (about 60% of the size of the RN’s Type 23) and her tasking would therefore be mainly in European waters – rather than the open Atlantic that the RN’s ships are designed to cope with.
BNS Leopold I was due to sail on Thursday evening.
In many ways, Denmark’s HDMS Peter Willemoes is a much more interesting visitor. She is named after a Danish naval officer who first saw service commanding a floating gun battery against Nelson’s fleet at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. He was killed, again fighting the British, at the Battle of Zeeland Point in 1808.
The ship herself is an Iver Huitfeldt class air defence frigate (similar in task to the RN’s Type 45s). The RN’s new class of Type 31 general-purpose frigates – the Inspiration class is based on the same design, with a different weapon and sensor fit. So, the hull and general layout of the Peter Willemoes is a shape that we will be getting very used to over the coming years – especially as the same general design has also been chosen by Poland and Indonesia. No doubt, we will see the Polish variants here for NATO training with FOST in due course.
Plymouth Boat Tours - Part 3 of our series
By The Captain
Previously I have written about Plymouth Boat Tours' three regular ferries - Cremyll, Cawsand and the Waterlink - and the boats mainly used on them: the Edgcumbe Belle on the Cremyll Ferry and the Tamar Belle and the Plymouth Princess on the Cawsand and Waterlink runs.
The other two boats in the present PBT fleet are the Plymouth Sound and the Legend of Plymouth. These two run the cruises around the harbour and up the Tamar to Calstock and into the River Yealm. By their very nature, the Tamar and Yealm Cruises are dependent on the state of the tide and can only run on certain days and at certain times. The harbour cruises run all-year round (albeit less frequently in the Winter months). To check what is running and when, go to PBTs web site (www.plymouthboattrips.co.uk)
The elder of the two is the Plymouth Sound and, unusually, she has been operating on and around the Sound ever since she was built in Millbrook for Tamar Cruising in 1987.
Her 40th birthday will be on 2nd April next year.
Her gross tonnage is 80.89 and her steel hull is 19.81 (65 feet) long. She is the largest vessel in the fleet and her maximum capacity is 191 passengers, looked after by four crew. For evening cruises and when the bar is open, her passenger capacity is limited by the Marine and Coastguard Agency to 150. Like the Legend of Plymouth, Plymouth Sound can be chartered and both often run events like jazz cruises.
The newest of PBTs’ fleet is the 27-year-old Legend of Plymouth. She was built by Mustang Marine in Wales and started her working life in Portsmouth and on the Solent. Her original name was Catalina, ‘though she was nicknamed the ‘Bat Boat’ from her sharp profile. After five years on the Solent, she spent a brief period (2005-6) here in Plymouth, before heading north to Loch Ness as the Legend of Loch Ness, where her echo sounder was used to probe the depths of the loch for the fabled monster.
Earlier this year, the Plymouth Venturer went north in a swap for the Legend of Loch Ness – renamed Legend of Plymouth as she returned here. Like Plymouth Sound, she is built of steel and has a gross tonnage of 26.27 tons with an overall length of 18.64m (just over 61 feet). She is licensed for 108 passengers, with a crew of three and is also slower than Plymouth Sound – at 11 knots compared to 8.
Of all the cruises offered by PBTs, the Calstock one is my favourite. The contrast as the boat slips under Brunel’s bridge and up the Tamar is dramatic. There can be few cities anywhere in the world where you can go from the industrial might of the largest naval dockyard in Western Europe to the SSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) in the Tamar Marine Conservation Zone.
Although PBTs still own the experimental electric boat, e-Voyager, she is currently not in service and her future is not clear.
Finally, rumour has it that PBTs are building a new boat – artists impression above. Timescale, name etc. still unknown. Watch this space.
Yours aye!
New trees on The Hoe?
The Hoe Neighbourhood Forum thinks there’s space for a few more trees in one little corner of the Hoe - and wants to know what we think!
Working with Plymouth Tree People, they propose a few more cherries, and two new trees in the grounds of the Hoe Bowling Club. If they get support from park users and residents, planting will be funded by the Plymouth & South Devon Community Forest. Have your say here
Three weeks to the Referendum
Voters should by now have received polling cards or postal voting cards for the Hoe Neighbourhood Plan referendum on Thursday December 3.
Watch out next for a leaflet that tells you all about the ballot, why it is being held, and what a YES result would mean.
If you can't wait, click here for last week's comprehensive Beagle explainer that tells you all you need to know.
It's YOUR vote - and it's OUR neighbourhood!
The Beagle Weekend Guide
1. Christmas arrives on the Barbican
Saturday 14 November | The Barbican and Sutton Harbour | Noon–6pm
One of Plymouth's most popular waterfront celebrations returns on Saturday, as the Barbican Christmas Lights Switch-On brings an afternoon of festive entertainment to Southside Street and the surrounding harbour.
Local choirs, dance groups and performers will take to the stage throughout the afternoon, while stalls selling handmade goods offer an opportunity to get ahead with Christmas shopping.
Father Christmas, the Lord Mayor and special guests will join the celebrations before the lights are switched on at approximately 5.15pm.
2. Enjoy the music of Electric Light Orchestra
Saturday 14 November | Steel Brew | 7pm–10.30pm
Fans of Jeff Lynne and Electric Light Orchestra are in for a treat as Explosive Light Orchestra bring their tribute show to Royal William Yard.
The band celebrates ELO's distinctive combination of rock, pop and orchestral arrangements, with a programme featuring familiar hits including Mr Blue Sky, Livin' Thing, Telephone Line and Don't Bring Me Down.
3. Make your own scented candle
Saturday 14 November | Mills Bakery, Royal William Yard | 11am and 2pm
Fancy trying something creative this weekend?
Candles of Sherford is running two workshops where participants can learn the art of candle-making, from selecting fragrances to preparing and pouring the wax.
The sessions last one hour and 45 minutes, with refreshments and a glass of Prosecco included. £36. Tickets and info
Comments ()