It is a rather ordinary English coastal city that hardly looks like the most attractive holiday destination for wealthy tourists from thousands of miles away.
But an American couple who have just visited Plymouth for the 39th year running insist it is like 'heaven on earth'.
Bill and Thelma Donald, who live in bustling Boston, Massachusetts, have spent three weeks in the Devon city every year since
It holds a special place in their hearts because they met there in 1943, when Mr Donald, now 87, visited his future wife's hometown as an 18-year-old in the US Navy.
Mrs Donald, 83, said she dreams about 'beautiful' Plymouth, whose landmarks include a lighthouse and an aquarium.
Now the couple return each year to Plymouth, whose fort and pleasant countryside is more commonly enjoyed as a pleasure outing for coach trips from the South West and nearby Wales.
.THE DONALDS' TOP 5 PLYMOUTH ACTIVITIES
Go swimming at the art deco Tinsdale Lido.
Stay at the Citadel House hotel on the historic Hoe.
Visit the leafy Prince Rock and Plymouth's parks.
Walk along the seafront and sit on the dock.
Make a trip to the Naval war memorial
Mrs Donald said: 'My heart is always here. I just love it.
'I dream about it all the time. You have the beautiful countryside in the background and the beautiful sea here.
'It’s like heaven on earth.
'When I left the city was completely destroyed by German bombs, now it’s just beautiful.'
Mrs Donald, who was born in the city's Prince Rock, became friends with Mr Donald over the 14 months he spent there, after she met the young Coxswain playing baseball in one Plymouth’s parks.
They remained in contact after Mr Donald was re-deployed on the US Navy destroyer USS Niblack in the Pacific.
In 1947, when Mrs Donald was 18, she received a telegram from her sweetheart that would change here life.
'We wrote to each other all the time and then one day he said to me in a telegram, "swim on over here I want to marry you",' she said.
'Within no time at all, I sailed over to New York on a steamer, which took 10 days.
'Bill was sitting on the dock waiting for me. We married 10 days later on December 16, 1947.'
While the couple focused on family life and their three children for the next 25 years, in the summer of 1972 they made the trip they would repeat for nearly four decades.
'We just love all of this,' added Mr Donald, 87, gesturing at Tinside lido. 'We always come back to the Hoe and Tinside because it brings back so many memories.
'Thelma learned to swim at Tinside.
'To us this is the best place in the world. Everyone’s so friendly and helpful, you just can’t fault it.'
At first, the couple stayed with Mrs Donald’s parents in the Prince Rock area. But when her mother and father died, the American pair began staying at Citadel House hotel on the Hoe - where they have spent every visit since.
Norma Simpson, owner of Citadel House, said she sees them as family. 'They're amazing,' she said. 'They have the same suite in the hotel every year and very much have the same sort of routine.
'They go to the open air swimming pool at Tinside every day and Thelma swims several times a day - whatever the weather.
'They're incredible. They're old friends to us - almost like family now.
'We very much look forward to seeing them. All the staff know them. It's wonderful, really.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1XDD1GZD6
Somebody else likes Plymouth!
Somebody else likes Plymouth!
I thought I was all alone in that!
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: Somebody else likes Plymouth!
You know I LOVE Plymouth.
Oh the lazy times we spent at the Grand. I would rather go there for our 10th wedding anniversary than the Whitesands Lodge.
(Purely for filthy reasons you understand.)
Oh the lazy times we spent at the Grand. I would rather go there for our 10th wedding anniversary than the Whitesands Lodge.
(Purely for filthy reasons you understand.)
Bah!
Re: Somebody else likes Plymouth!
Whitesands is out for our wedding anniversary, only open in Summer months. The Grand would be Grand!
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: Somebody else likes Plymouth!
I went THROUGH Plymouth in August 1966 via train to London at around 11PM, does that count?
while in vacinity...
I do have many nice memories of Penzance, friendly people, charming buildings, and wonderful family whom we ended up staying with for 10 days.
My father was in the hospital (emergency surgery) and we only planned to stay 2 or 3 days at the Queens Hotel.
It could've been sompelace worse like GERMANY!
while in vacinity...
I do have many nice memories of Penzance, friendly people, charming buildings, and wonderful family whom we ended up staying with for 10 days.
My father was in the hospital (emergency surgery) and we only planned to stay 2 or 3 days at the Queens Hotel.
It could've been sompelace worse like GERMANY!
Your collective inability to acknowledge this obvious truth makes you all look like fools.
yrs,
rubato
Re: Somebody else likes Plymouth!
I lived in Plymouth for four years Dales, did my first degree there. I lived about 9 miles from Penzance, at Sennen.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”