Catching up with Emily in Exeter

Like any "normal" Australian, driving the longest way to get things done is not much of an issue. Our original intention during our visit to the south west was to do one day heading south to Exeter to catch up with our neice Emily and her partner Justin and to include a visit to Port Isaac at the same time because we have always wanted to see the inspiration for Doc Martin (the TV show, not the boots ... most people over here think we mean the latter even though they are spelled differently). We did both, but split it into two trips.

Never been to Exeter before and we had arranged with Emily to have dinner with her and Justin after work. So we had lunch with Steve, Helena, John & Ros at a Thatcher's Cider pub in Sandford and then puttered down the M5 to allow plenty of time to have a wander around and find parking etc in a unfamiliar city. Pleasantly surprised how beautiful it was, even allowing for our very limited explorations.

 



As you do after a long drive (well, not much longer than 90 mins down the M5) we followed signs from the car park to the "Quay". You can see Deb enjoying a cup of tea above and then a couple of shots of the Quay ... used to be a very large port for wool exporting so there are some fabulous old buildings that have been redeveloped into markets, retail, entertainment and housing. The River Exe flows on a little forther to the ocean at Exmouth and that is closer to where Emily and Justin are actually living. So we meandered around the wonderful riverside walks intending to make our way to the railway station in due course to meet up with Emily and Justin for dinner. A few more shots highlighting a magnificent spring afternoon and the delightful landscape the residents have at their disposal and share with a multitude of swans and seagulls.

 

As far around as we intended to go (relying on signs to St.David's railway station along the walk) there was a modern footbridge joining and expanse of recreation grounds and the city centre. At the footbridge there was a weir and a pub that would be very hard to leave on  day like we were enjoying ... I imagine it would be a very long lunch! I have also included a shot back into suburbia creeping inevitably up the surrounding hillsides ... not difficult to imagine where you would rather be (for me at any rate!). The church spire oversees St Michael and All Angels ... not even a cathedral.

I mentioned "intended" above ... as we kept walking towards St. David's railway station it became evident that it was not a station in the city :(, or not "Central". Great walk as you can tell from the selection above, but was not doing any favours to Deb even at our leisurely pace. A positive? You have to work hard but this is about as positive as it was ... we rode a local train one stop back to Central and managed to find a hot chocolate just before the shopping centre closed.

Turned out though, the main city centre spreads out from the Exeter Cathedral square. A mix of the very old with the much more modern. Most interesting was the main cross streets are both pedestrian malls with only buses passing and apparently alive with buskers, especially on weekends. A trip up one more hill and through some gardens to Exeter Castle was steps too far for Deb's weary legs so we did not reach that pinnacle. We did get to explore and rest at the Cathedral Square and enjoy some of the very old architecture and more modern interpretations by clever artists (the bottom image is "chipped into a white painted red brick wall) ... you can see Deb relaxing at the feet of Richard Hooker (departed us in 1600) - he was a local C of E priest and influential theologian of the period; it was just a good spot to sit, she assured me she was not having thoughts of conversion :).

And so, yes, we did eventually have dinner with Emily and Justin. A nice place called Coal. They have been enjoying their time here and after visiting London and Paris (recently) they were heading off Rome for a week (there as I write this). They are intending on doing their utmost to explore more of Europe in the year or so they have left before their visas expire. Great to catch up. Justin has not been enjoying the rugby much, but says it gives a much better appreciation of what he has to enjoy back home - never a bad outcome. Both are doing OK with their work, and see it as a means to an end to take advantage of easy access to much that the UK and Europe has at their doorstep. And looking forward, as a result, of exploring more of Australia when they do return. Great to see them enjoying life.

Finally we toddled off to find the car park (the signage is very good) and back up the M5 for a good night's sleep. Quite a different experience on the motorways after dark. The volume of traffic has declined and the speed of what remains has increased. Plenty of room for the speed to burn as they leave you in their wake as you cruise along at 120kph. I leave you with another image of Exeter Cathedral just lighting up as dusk becomes night (this was after 9pm ... so the days, with daylight saving, are already very long). Justin reckoned in full night the yellow tones of the lighting made it look all too spooky!