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| Exeter Information |
| EXETER 's sights are richer than those
of any other town in Devon or Cornwall, the legacy of an eventful history
since its Celtic foundation and the establishment here of the most westerly
Roman outpost. After the Roman withdrawal, Exeter was refounded by Alfred
the Great and by the time of the Norman Conquest had become one of the
largest towns in England, profiting from its position on the banks of
the River Exe. The expansion of the wool trade in the Tudor period sustained
the city until the eighteenth century, and Exeter has maintained its status
as commercial centre and county town, despite having much of its ancient
centre gutted by World War II bombing. You are likely to pass through this transport hub for Devon at least once on your West Country travels, and Exeter's sturdy cathedral and the remnants of its compact old quarter would repay an overnight stay The City The most distinctive feature of Exeter's skyline, St Peter's Cathedral (Mon-Sat 8am-6.30pm, Sun 8am-7.30pm; £3 suggested donation; ), is a stately monument made conspicuous by the two great Norman towers flanking the nave. Close up, it is the facade's ornate Gothic screen that commands attention: its three tiers of sculpted (and very weathered) figures - including Alfred, Athelstan, Canute, William the Conqueror and Richard II - were begun around 1360, part of a rebuilding programme which left only the Norman towers from the original construction. The cathedral boasts the longest unbroken Gothic ceiling in the world, its bosses vividly painted - one, towards the west front, shows the murder of Thomas à Becket. The Lady Chapel and Chapter House - respectively at the far end of the building and off the right transept - are thirteenth-century, but the main part of the nave, including the lavish rib-vaulting, dates from the full flowering of the English Decorated style, a century later. There are many fine examples of sculpture from this period, including, in the minstrels' gallery high up on the left side, angels playing musical instruments, and, below them, figures of Edward III and Queen Philippa. Dominating the cathedral's central space are the organ pipes installed in the seventeenth century and harmonizing perfectly with the linear patterns of the roof and arches. In the Choir don't miss the sixty-foot bishop's throne or the misericords - decorated with mythological figures around 1260, they are thought to be the oldest in the country. Outside, a graceful statue of the theologian Richard Hooker surveys the Cathedral Close , a motley mixture of architectural styles from Tudor to Regency, though most display Exeter's trademark red-brick work. One of the finest buildings is the Elizabethan Mol's Coffee House , impressively timbered and gabled, now a map shop. Some older buildings can also be found amid the banal concrete of the modern town centre, including Exeter's finest civic building, the fourteenth-century Guildhall - claimed to be England's oldest municipal building in regular use. Standing not far from the cathedral on the pedestrianized High Street , it's fronted by an elegant Renaissance portico, and the main chamber merits a glance for its arched roof timbers, which rest on carved bears holding staves, symbols of the Yorkist cause during the Wars of the Roses. Just down from here, opposite St Petrock's - one of Exeter's six surviving medieval churches in the central area - you'll find the impossibly narrow Parliament Street, just 25 inches wide at this end. On the west side of Fore Street, the continuation of the High Street, a turning leads to St Nicholas Priory (Easter-Oct Mon, Wed & Sat 3-4.30pm; free), part of a small Benedictine foundation that became a merchant's home after the Dissolution; the interior has been restored to what it might have looked like in the Tudor era. On the other side of Fore Street, trailing down towards the river, cobbled Stepcote Hill was once the main road into Exeter from the west, though it is difficult to imagine this steep and narrow lane as a main thoroughfare. Another of central Exeter's ancient churches, St Mary Steps , stands surrounded by mainly Tudor houses at the bottom, with a fine seventeenth-century clock on its tower and a late Gothic nave inside. At the north end of the High Street, Romansgate Passage (next to Boots) holds the entrance to a network of underground passages first excavated in the thirteenth century to bring water to the cathedral precincts. The passages can be visited as part of a fascinating 35-minute guided tour (July-Sept & school holidays Mon-Sat 10am-5.30pm; rest of year Tues-Fri noon-5pm, Sat 10am-5pm; £2.75; July & Aug £3.75) - not recommended to claustrophobes, however. Nearby, Castle Street leads to what remains of Rougemont Castle , now little more than a perimeter of red-stone walls that are best appreciated from the surrounding Rougemont and Northernhay Gardens. Following the path through this park, exit at Queen Street to drop in at the excellent Royal Albert Memorial Museum (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; free), the closest thing in Devon to a county museum. Exuding the Victorian spirit of wide-ranging curiosity, this motley assortment includes everything from a menagerie of stuffed animals to mock-ups of the various building styles used at different periods in the city. The collections of silverware, watches and clocks contrast nicely with the colourful ethnography section, and the picture gallery has some good specimens of West Country art. Exeter's centre is bounded to the southwest by the River Exe, where the port area is now mostly devoted to leisure activities, particularly around the old Quayside. Pubs, shops and cafés share the space with handsomely restored nineteenth-century warehouses and the smart Custom House , built in 1681, its opulence reflecting the former importance of the cloth trade. Next door, the Quay House from the same period has an information desk and, upstairs, a video on Exeter's history (Easter-Oct). The area comes into its own at night, but is worth a wander at any time, and you can rent bikes and canoes at Saddles & Paddles on the quayside (tel 01392/424241, ) to explore the Exeter Canal , which runs five miles to Topsham and beyond. |
| Arrival Information |
| Exeter has two train stations , Exeter
Central and St David's, the latter a little further out from the centre
of town, though connected by frequent city buses. Trains from London Waterloo
stop at both, as do trains on the Tarka Line to Barnstaple and those to
Exmouth, though Exeter Central is not served by most other long-distance
trains. Buses stop at the station on Paris Street, right across from the
tourist office (July & Aug Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm; rest of
year Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 9am-1pm & 2-5pm; tel 01392/265700, ). Most of Exeter's cheaper accommodation lies north of the centre, near the two stations, including two comfortable B&Bs close to each other in a quiet location, Park View Hotel , 8 Howell Rd (tel 01392/271772, ; £40-50), a listed Georgian building with peaceful, airy rooms, and Raffles , 11 Blackall Rd (tel 01392/270200; £50-60), an elegant Victorian house with rooms furnished with items from the owner's antique business, and meals prepared with organic garden produce. More centrally, Maurice , 5 Bystock Terrace (tel 01392/213079, hotel.maurice@eclipse.co.uk ; under £40), has bright, smallish rooms, all non-smoking. For an upmarket splurge, you can't do better than the Royal Clarence Hotel , superbly located right on Cathedral Yard (tel 01392/319955, ; £90-110), built in 1769 and reputedly the first inn in England to be described as a "hotel". At the opposite end of the spectrum, Globe Backpackers , 71 Holloway St (tel 01392/215521, ), is a clean and central independent hostel with good showers and an upbeat atmosphere; alternatively, Exeter YHA lies two miles south of the city centre at 47 Countess Wear Rd (tel 01392/873329, ); take minibus #K or #T from High Street or South Street, or #57 from the bus station, to the Countess Wear post office on Topsham Road, a fifteen-minute ride, plus a ten-minute walk. |
| Eating, Drinking and Entertainment |
| Round the corner from the museum, in medieval
Gandy Street, Coolings Wine Bar is a popular and stylish snack stop that's
also open until late evening with DJs on Fridays and Saturdays. Opposite
the cathedral, the casually modish Café Bar serves toasties, salads, burgers
and pastas in small or large sizes until 10pm daily. It's part of the
next-door Michael Caine's (tel 01392/310031, ), one of Exeter's classiest
restaurants where you'll find sophisticated modern European cuisine in
sleek surroundings; prices are fairly high, though there are reasonable
fixed-price menus at lunchtime. In total contrast, the "olde worlde"
atmosphere is laid on thickly at Mad Meg's (closed Mon & Tues lunch)
- once a nunnery, now staffed by waitresses in wench costume - but there
are some good-value traditional dishes here; it's tucked away near the
top of Fore Street, below a bike shop. Nearby Herbie's , 15 North St (tel
01392/258473; closed all Sun & Mon eve), is a wholefood restaurant
with organic ice cream on the menu, while good-value Mexican and Italian
staples are on the menu at Harry's , in a converted church at 86 Longbrook
St (tel 01392/202 234). Among the pubs , the Ship Inn , in St Martin's Lane (between the High Street and the cathedral), serves reasonably priced lunches and prides itself on the claim that it was once Francis Drake's local. The pubs and clubs on Exeter's Quay make this a lively spot to while away an evening. You can eat and drink sitting outside at the seventeenth-century Prospect Inn . Behind Exeter's museum, the Phoenix Arts Centre (tel 01392/667080) is the focus of a medley of cultural pursuits, including films, exhibitions, gigs and various workshops. Of the town's theatres , the Northcott, near the university on Stocker Road (tel 01392/493493), and the Barnfield, on Barnfield Road (tel 01392/271808), have the best productions, with the former also staging ballet and opera performances. The Exeter Festival takes place during the first three weeks of July, and features jazz and blues concerts as well as classical performances and cabaret, at various venues around town. The city's best dance and live-music venues are in the centre, including the Cavern Club , with entrances in Queen and Gandy streets (also open 10.30am-4pm for snacks), and the Timepiece , Little Castle Street, formerly a prison that now also has a good daytime bar with a garden. Exeter's two biggest club complexes face each other on the Quay: the Warehouse, Boxes and Boogies , and Volts and Hothouse , all open in various combinations and playing mainstream dance and retro sounds. |
| Exploring Exeter |
| A La Ronde Five miles south of Exeter off the A376, the Gothic folly of A La Ronde (April-Oct Mon-Thurs & Sun 11am-5.30pm; £3.40) was the creation of two cousins, Jane and Mary Parminter, who in the 1790s were inspired by their European Grand Tour to construct a sixteen-sided house, possibly based on the Byzantine basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. The end product is filled with mementoes of the Parminters' tour as well as some of their more offbeat creations, such as a frieze made of feathers culled from game birds and chickens. In the upper rooms are a gallery and staircase completely covered in shells, too fragile to be visited, though part can be glimpsed on a closed-circuit TV system. The women intended that the house should be inherited only by female descendants, though the conditions of Mary Parminter's will (she died in 1849) were broken at the end of the nineteenth century when the building was inherited by the Reverend Oswald Reichel, who added dormer windows on the second floor, which afford superb views over the Exe Estuary to Haldon Hill and Dawlish Warren. |
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