“Inspircation” Day 7: A dream realized in Devonport

We found it! The street where my grandfather was born.

I’ve been calling this trip an “inspircation”’—and it is, combining some rest and respite with some research. However, the initiating factor for coming on this trip in the first place was to help my mom achieve her dream of visiting the street where her father was born.

Marcie and I finally helped her realize that dream. Today, we hunted down Barrack Street, in the borough of Devonport, in the city of Plymouth, on the southern coast of England. The street is not much longer than my arm, but finding it filled my mom with utter joy.

Here are a couple pictures of us on the cobblestones.

Afterwards, we explored the neighbourhood. Like so many places in England, there are buildings here that are really old. We discovered that the church right next to Barrack Street has been converted into a library. I would have loved to go in, but it was closed due to it being a bank holiday. But I imagine this is the local church for my grandfather, and that is a neat thought.

Since the church/library was closed, we ventured through the borough, to the shore, and walked the walls along the sea.

After this pilgrimage was accomplished, we headed back to Exeter and did a bit more exploring there. Much to my delight, we discovered some underground passages and went down for a tour. These tunnels were originally built almost a thousand years ago as way to run pipes to St. Peter’s Cathedral. Later on, they were expanded so that the town could also access a supply of fresh water. The tunnels were eventually decommissioned, but then rediscovered in the 20^th century and used as a haven during the bombing that occurred in 1942.

We also explored some of the other old sections of wall and battlements in the city and discovered the site where the last execution for the “crime” of witchcraft took place in England.

  

In this park, I also found a very interesting tree. My mom thought the bark looks like a face but to me it looks like the long bony fingers of a skeleton.

Finally, no post would be complete without some doors. Here are some favorites of the day, including a door to nowhere . . .