Cattedown

Its position beside the River Plym estuary just short of the mouth led to its early settlement.

Catherine of Aragon - the first wife of Henry VIII - travelled from Loredo in Spain to a harbour in Plymouth, England to be married.

They included the remains of many strange creatures – hyenas, bison, woolly rhinoceros and cave lions.

Among the partial skeletons of 15 early humans was the famous ‘Cattedown Man’ – believed to be the city's earliest known inhabitant and dating back 140,000 years.

-[1] Today, the caves – listed as a national monument by Historic England – remain fenced off and kept out of sight.

Cattedown
Cattedown from Mount Batten
A panorama of the Cattedown docks area taken from Mount Batten