June 22 Exeter, Devon

Full day today.   We first explored the downtown Exeter area.  This is a compact city which can easily be explored on foot and predates the arrival of the Romans in AD 50.  I got excited at the Exeter Cathedral but Norm then pointed out we will probably see hundreds of cathedrals so not to get too excited at the first one.  Here's a photo from downtown.

We wandered through a great mix of shops on our way to the Royal Albert Memorial Museum.  This excerpt describes it better than I ever could.

“New displays showcase the world-class collections and collectors that have helped RAMM to become one of Britain’s finest regional museums.

They tell the story of Exeter and Devon from the prehistoric to the present but RAMM is more than a local museum; its internationally important world cultures and natural history collections also tell a story of global exploration and collecting in the 18th and 19th centuries.

As well as its diverse and significant collections, RAMM’s lively programme of exhibitions, activities and events ensures that it is the most visited attraction in Exeter and one of the most visited museums in the South West.”

Exeter’s City Wall is 2,000 years old and is still almost 70% intact – so impressive!  While it is 2 miles in length, we only walked along for a short distance as our parking permit was running out.  Many historical events occurred around this wall including the fact that it was here where William the Conqueror established a stronghold within the city.

Our next exploration took us to the Exeter Quay.  Wonderfully picturesque and the great weather continues.  In fact, if anything, we would have preferred it to be a little cooler.  Saw this interesting sign in the washroom – don't know yet what it all means.

There is a lovely little chain ferry to take you from one side of the quay to the other if you decided you didn’t want to walk and take one of the two bridges.  We walked.  There was some trepidation walking past this one bridge and the multitude of swans on the walkway we had to avoid.  People were out in force to enjoy the shops, restaurants and water sports on the River Exe.

We then drove along the River Exe to Exmouth just to see what might be there.  We ended up in a car park where the couple next to us gave us their parking ticket because it had 2 extra hours on it and they were on their way out.  So sweet.  We wandered around and ended up having a lunch of jacket potato and a prawn sandwich.

We had intended to go to a Laundromat but the one I selected on the GPS wasn’t there and we gave up and came back to the hotel.  Time to go off to the pub and have some dinner.

Sending love R/P