It was a glorious day when we visited Exeter! The sun was out in full mode and so are the tourists!
Cornwall and Denver (South-west England) have always been favourite places for the English to go for their summer holidays. Exeter, being one of the largest city in Devon, is a popular stop-over.
It is a beautiful university city.... To be honest, it's more like a big town. But it has a cathedral, hence its city status...
The city has its own canal systems (Exeter Ship canal is the oldest pound lock canal in England.) and access to ports. This geographical advantages have allowed the city to thrive from the middle ages right up to the industrial revolution, when the wool and cloth industry was overtaken by the North.
The local tourist office offers a number of free city tour. We joined one that interest both of us. The lady was very friendly and very knowledgeable. Even though it is a voluntary position, all guides must be trained for 6 months and they must also pass both written and practical exams!
Here are some pics from the city:
Cornwall and Denver (South-west England) have always been favourite places for the English to go for their summer holidays. Exeter, being one of the largest city in Devon, is a popular stop-over.
It is a beautiful university city.... To be honest, it's more like a big town. But it has a cathedral, hence its city status...
The city has its own canal systems (Exeter Ship canal is the oldest pound lock canal in England.) and access to ports. This geographical advantages have allowed the city to thrive from the middle ages right up to the industrial revolution, when the wool and cloth industry was overtaken by the North.
The local tourist office offers a number of free city tour. We joined one that interest both of us. The lady was very friendly and very knowledgeable. Even though it is a voluntary position, all guides must be trained for 6 months and they must also pass both written and practical exams!
Here are some pics from the city:
We were waiting for the tour to start so we went for a stroll along the port. The sandstone colour building in the picture was the The Robert Cornish warehouse (1834).
Exeter quayside. A lot of people were canoeing in the river and cycling on the dedicated cycle track.
This Custom House was constructed in 1681. Its elaborate plaster ceiling was the work of John Abbott of Frithelstock. It is believed to be England's oldest purpose-built custom house and it remained in continuous use by the HM customs and Excise until 1989.
Some random old homes.
A slanted house. It is next to 'The House that Moved' (a late medieval house that was moved to the current location in the 1960s). We took the wrong house!! hahaha
An original old window (the glass may be new, but who knows!)!
A medieval under-house passageway...
... some of the wooden panels on the right are originals.
Parliament Street. It is dedicated to the Parliament....
... it fits only one average person on the narrow end and it claims to be the narrowest street in the world! The local city council named this lane 'Parliament Street' after the Reform Bill was passed by the Parliament.
Old façade 
A pair of gable-ended buildings. The pair were built as a single structure and it was dating from 1549...
... It claims to be dating from 1164 though!
After a fire incident, the city council made it compulsory to build a brick/ stone wall between each new wooden building.
More old buildings!!
The ex-Barings Bank branch. The whole story begun when John Baring migrated to Exeter from Germany in 1717 and later married the daughter of a wealthy grocer. He eventually got extremely rich through the wool trade. Baring was the wealthiest merchant in Exeter at his death in 1748,. His son expanded the Baring empire and established the Baring Brothers Merchant Bank in London. It went on the become one of the oldest bank in England. Unfortunately, this story has a sad ending and in 1995, it became the victim of the infamous Nick Leeson fiasco. The guy bankrupted the firm through his illegal share dealing. Barings was sold for £1 to the Dutch ING, after 233 years of trading.
St Peters Cathedral was built 1114 Norman times. The two towers are originals.
Its present form was finished around 1375
When in Devon, one must indulge oneself in one of Devon's finest produce - Devon clotted cream! Cream tea has therefore become a must-do item on my list! We has decided to visit the tea room next to the cathedral. But why this particular one?? Well, a few years ago, I learnt about Exeter from a newspaper column that I read regularly. The columnist's daughter was studying in Exeter so she visits it quite often. She has highly recommended the tea room next to the cathedral!! There is no way that I would forget it! hahaha
The clotted cream is extra, extra thick and creamy. The scones are not too dry or too doughy. I only wished I ordered a regular size, which comes with 2 scones. SP did and he didn't share!!! (I ordered a small portion with only 1 scones. )Overall, we had a good time. It is a very picturesque city.
It is so beautiful that famous literary figures have based their work in the Exeter area. For example, Jane Austen has such fond memories of Exeter that she set her first novel, Sense and Sensibility, in the region. Charles Dickens also wrote the opening chapters of Nicholas Nickleby at the Mile End Cottage in Alphington, Exeter and chose Dawlish (9 miles from Exeter) as Nickleby’s birthplace.
It is so beautiful that famous literary figures have based their work in the Exeter area. For example, Jane Austen has such fond memories of Exeter that she set her first novel, Sense and Sensibility, in the region. Charles Dickens also wrote the opening chapters of Nicholas Nickleby at the Mile End Cottage in Alphington, Exeter and chose Dawlish (9 miles from Exeter) as Nickleby’s birthplace.
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