They managed to make the old Register Office site even worse!

Plus: a submarine hunter off Plymouth's Coast; one week at sea for OldManSailing; a Fiesta full of seawater; The Captain's Scene on the Sound, and more.

So what has happened to the former Register Office land in Citadel Road?

Ringing the site with tatty fencing seems to have made matters worse.

Food waste is piled around the perimeter. The car park, formerly used by the Hoe bowlers, has been closed. But a gap in the fence means the area is still being used by addicts.

Meanwhile, heads are being scratched over bizarre signs that have been erected - some warning potential visitors of biohazards, and others claiming the area, which is littered with felled trees and bushes, is a "tree protection zone."

The Beagle is barking: "Just what is going on?" And it appears at least one person - Waterfront councillor Andy Rose - is trying to take action. He has escalated concerns, citing public health and public nuisance concerns - and has highlighted how members of the public are being harassed for money (£50 pounds in one case), and that drugs are being openly dealt near the Hoe bowling club and the memorial on Citadel/Lockyer corner.

The Hoe is the "jewel in the crown" of our city, and, it seems, anti-social elements are being allowed to destroy it in plain sight.

Sailing to Sydney in the wake of Chichester

'Old Man Sailing' John Passmore left Plymouth last week, on the 60th anniversary of the day Francis Chichester departed to make history sailing around the world.

Seven days on, and John is now in the Bay of Biscay. At the time of writing, he has completed nearly 500 nautical miles, with 13,591 nm to Sydney.

He's writing about his endeavours: in the last week he's encountered storms, damaged sails, shipping lanes and sunshine. Follow his blog here

Wrong way to Lido

It's taken a long time for anyone to notice, but thanks to Peter Porter for spotting that some of the pavement stickers guiding people to the Lido are pointing the wrong way!

Submarine hunter off The Sound

An RAF Poseidon MRA1 "submarine hunter" was spotted off Plymouth's coast - but it's not known if it was tracking hostile craft, or just on manoeuvre.

The MRA1, with call sign GURNY02, is based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland and uses radar, infrared cameras and sonar to detect and track submarines. It can also be armed with Mk54 torpedoes.

Do you know more? Contact The Beagle

Beagle News In Brief

🌊 A woman sadly died after falling ill while swimming in The Lido this week. PlymouthLive

🚏 Every weekend in September, bus travel anywhere in Plymouth is free. Details

🚌 Dr Oetker's Baking Bus is on the Hoe this weekend. Details

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Scene on the Sound - by The Captain

Keeping watch on maritime comings and goings

It’s been quite a busy week on the Sound. The superyacht Aviva is still at anchor, nearly three weeks after she first arrived. If one applies the usual rule of a superyacht costing 10% of her capital cost (said to be £200M) to run per annum, that implies that Aviva has cost her owner, British-born billionaire Joe Lewis, more than £1M since she first anchored here on 17 th August.

RFA Proteus has been in and out several times this week – when at sea, she has been clearly visible beyond the breakwater. Obviously her actual programme is classified, but it can be assumed that she is conducting a mixture of training and trials of new, probably autonomous, equipment. The other frequent mover in and out of the Sound has been the Dutch amphibious ship HNLMS Johan de Witt

You can clearly see the vehicle-loading ramp just forward of midships and, aft, under the flight deck, the two insets where smaller landing craft can be stored.

Just in front of the superstructure is a 30mm Goalkeeper Close-In Weapon System (CIWS). This gun can fire 4200 rounds/minute (70 rounds/second) through 7 barrels that rotate around the breech like a Gatling gun. Goalkeeper is a very effective anti-missile defence and is more effective (but much more expensive) than the US equivalent CIWS – the Phalanx system, which can fire 4500 20mm rounds/minute through a 6-barrelled Gatling gun. Some readers will remember that the Navy’s last carriers (Ark Royal, Illustrious & Invincible) were fitted with Goalkeeper, whilst most other ships had the cheaper Phalanx. CIWS are not, of course, the whole answer to anti-missile defence, but are an essential part of layered defence.

In July, the British and Dutch governments signed a £2.4bn agreement to build eight amphibious ships (4 for each navy). The Dutch will lead the design process, and the similarities to Johan de Witt are obvious. One clear difference in the future ships is the sloping sides and superstructure; this is part of the effort to reduce radar cross section, which makes a ship appear smaller on an enemy’s radar and increases the effectiveness of decoys.

It is said that the radar cross section of a Type 23 frigate is the same as that of an ordinary fishing trawler. It will, however, be some years yet before we see the first of these new ships here for their training.

Finally, repairs to the West Hoe Harbour are proceeding slowly, but - it seems - thoroughly.  With the exception of the stonework around the ‘hole’, the inside wall is now completely repointed, and the outside has been repointed as far as the corner, with just the section visible here to do. 

Yours aye!

Intertidal - a new artwork

What can a Ford Fiesta tell us about our links to the sea and the tides? A new, thought-provoking artwork has been commissioned to ask that question.

Stripped of their engines and rebuilt with hidden reservoirs, pumps, sensors and digital controls, the cars contain seawater that rises and falls in response to tidal data. Inside, sea plants are submerged and revealed as the water moves, echoing the changing conditions of Plymouth’s intertidal zone.

Placed away from the shoreline in familiar city locations, the cars make visible a connection that is easy to overlook. The influence of the sea does not simply stop at the water’s edge. Plymouth is a tidal city, shaped by the movement of water around, through and beneath it.

Artist David Cotterrell's art "installation" is at Tinside this weekend (until Monday) and then on The Hoe from Tuesday 13th – Monday 19th October 2026.