Exeter

Exeter is the county town of Devon and historically the administrative capital of the south-west peninsula. Once among the 5 largest and most important cities in England but now relatively small and sleepy. A historic mid-sized cathedral city with a good blend of arts, education and economy.

Culture and History

In AD 50 a Roman military base was built at a strategic crossing point on the banks of the river Exe, seven years after the main Roman invasion of Britain. The settlement quickly gained in importance as the administrative centre for the Dunmommi tribe once the legionnaires left. Indeed, it's Roman name, Isca Dumnomiorum, means "town of the Dunmommi tribe". Parts of the original Roman walls can still be seen today. The city continued to hold regional significance through the turbulent Dark Ages, being twice captured by the invading Vikings. Following the Norman Conquest, the inhabitants rebelled against William the Conqueror, who laid siege and subsequently built Rougemount Castle to ensure future compliance. During the renaissance period it developed into an economically powerful city through the wool industry, and a period of rapid growth commenced. Later, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, industry was driven by water power from the River Exe. It remained a significant seaport (courtesy of its Ship Canal) until the age of steam, but there was no major industrialisation in the later 19th century. The city was badly damaged in an incendiary bombing raid on the High Street and surrounding areas in 1942, and although post-war reconstruction has been limited, a number of interesting buildings remain.

Now Exeter is the commercial and service centre for a largely agricultural hinterland, with a population of around 110,000. Adequate facilities for tourists exist, but tourism does not dominate; regularly voted among the top 3 cities in the UK for quality of life.

Travel to Exeter - Visa Requirements

Flights and airtickets to Exeter

UK Domestic flights operated by flybe to Exeter International Airport are available from the following destinations;

• Belfast City (BHD)
• Edinburgh (EDI)
• Glasgow (GLA)
• Guernsey (GCI)
• Jersey (JER)
• Leeds Bradford (LBA)
• Manchester (MAN)
• Newcastle (NCL)
• Norwich (NWI)

Skybus also operates services to and from St. Mary's - Scilly Isles (ISC) during the summer.

International flights to Exeter operated by flybe. are available from the following destinations;

• Alicante (ALC)
• Amsterdam (AMS)
• Bergerac (EGC)
• Brest (BES)
• Chambery (CMF)
• Dublin (DUB)
• Geneva (GVA)
• Malaga (AGP)
• Split (SPU)
• Murcia (MJV)
• Palma (PMI)
• Paris (CDG)
• Salzburg (SZG)

Air Transat also operates a scheduled service to Toronto, Canada. There are charter flights to many holiday destinations.

Transport to and from the airport is by public bus or taxi. The longest you would wait for a bus is an hour and a half, but it is only a twenty minute trip to the city centre bus station, and costs about £3.00 single. A taxi costs between £10.00 and £20.00.

By train

Exeter is on the London Paddington to Cornwall line. Exeter has one main station being Exeter St. Davids, a 10 minute walk or bus journey to the city centre. Several smaller stations for local and regional trains exist, including Central, St Thomas and St James's Park . The average journey time from London Paddington to Exeter St. Davids is anywhere between 2 and 3 hours, with the average being around 2 hours 30 minutes. There is also a slower service from London Waterloo which can take upto 4 hours. National services to Bristol, Birmingham and other destinations are also run several times daily. Central station is just a 5 minute walk into the city centre along Queen Street.

Buses to Exeter

National Express operate a number of bus services from points around the United Kingdom that arrive into the city's bus and coach station, located in Paris Street, only a few minutes walk to the main shopping area in High Street and the cathedral green.

Two companies run coaches between Exeter coach station and London's Victoria Coach Station. National Express offer a nine times a day service (Service Numbers 501, 404 & 406) with some advance fares as low as £2.00 return, and Megabus run once a day starting at £1.50.

Tours and Getting around Exeter

Buses within the city are operated by Stagecoach Devon, who also operate buses to most regional destinations. Some regional routes are operated by FirstBus, and by small independent operators. However, the central area of the city is fairly small, so it is easy to get around on foot.

Exeter tourist attractions and sightseeing

• City walls (incomplete)
• Exeter Cathedral, [1] and the Cathedral Green; Exeter's top attraction and a very beautiful gothic building. The cathedral lays claim to having the longest unbroken stone roof beam of any building in the world. The Cathedral Green opposite can be a good place to chill out on in the summer, ideal for an inexpensive picnic.
• Guildhall, [2], claimed to be the oldest municipal building in England still serving its original purpose.
• Historic quayside
• Medieval churches in the city centre: St Martin's, St Mary Arches, St Mary Steps, St Olave's St Petrock's, St Stephen's
• Parliament Street, claimed to be the world's narrowest.
• Rougemont Castle
• Royal Albert memorial museum
• St Nicholas Priory, [3], the 900-year-old guest wing of a former Benedictine Priory (currently closed for renovation, expected to re-open 2008).
• Underground passages, one hour Tours are easily arranged of the city's unique medieval (and now out of use) water system. Not for the causterphobic! The entrance can be found next to the Princesshay shopping develpoment. It is open all year, £4.90 adults, £3.40 children.
• University of Exeter parkland campuses and sculpture walk

Exeter city tours

• Take a guided tour with the City's volunteer Redcoat guides - tours leave the Cathedral Green or the Quay and last 1-2 hours
• Devon's Crealy Great Adventure Park Sidmouth Road, Exeter, Devon, EX5 1DR, 01395 233 200. Just outside Exeter, and easily accessible from the main bus station via the 52A or 52B bus, this adventure park has a decent collection of indoor and outdoor slides and rides which should keep children occupied for a full day.

Watch

Cinema

• Odeon, Sidwell Street (Near The Juke Of York Pub)
• Picture House, Bartholomew Street (Near The World Food Shop), with a cafe-bar and free wi-fi
• Vue, Summerland Street (Near The Bus Station)

Theatre

• Northcott Theatre, located on the University campus
• Barnfield Theatre
• New Theatre

Sport

• Exeter City Football Club play in the forth tier of English football. The 8830 capacity St James' Park stadium is 10 minutes walk from the city centre.
• Exeter Chiefs Rugby Union Club
• Exeter Falcons Speedway (currently without a home in the city)
• Exeter Racecourse

Learn

• University of Exeter
• Exeter College

Work

• The largest employers are the Devon County Council, the University of Exeter, and the Met Office.
• Employment agencies cluster around the west end of the High Street.
• The Job centre is at Clarendon House, Western Way
• Exeter Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) is at Wat Tyler House in King William Street

Exeter souvenirs and shopping

• The High Street is mostly taken up by national clothing and electronics chains, and was branded a "clone town" in a 2005 poll of bland high streets. At that point Exeter High Street had only one "independent" shop (a tabacconist).
• Larger concentrations of independent shops can be found in the streets just off the High Street. Fore Street has a number of good outdoor goods shops. Gandy Street and the Cathedral Green offer a similarly eclectic range of retailers. Magdalen Road, a few minutes walk from the city centre, offers award winning butchers and fishmongers as well as handmade jewellery and giftshops.
• A major redevelopment of Princesshay and surrounding streets has brought many new or redeveloped shops and restaurants.
• Mall-type shopping developments in the city include the Guildhall and Harlequins

Exeter Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

What follows is a small selection of the city's restaurants; the national chains of Pizza houses etc are also well represented, some of them in attractive settings e.g. ASK and Pizza Express on Cathedral Green, and Zizzi's in Gandy Street. The suburb of Topsham also has a good range of resturaunts.

Budget

• Chadni's, Heavitree Road. Kashmiri 
• Dinosaur Café, New North Road.  
• Gandhi, New North Road.  
• New Horizon Café, 47 Longbrook Street.  
• Taj Mahal, Queen Street.  

Midrange

• Al Fared, Cathedral Green. Moroccan 
• Blue Fish brasserie, Queen Street.  
• Cat in the Hat, Magdalen Road. [4] 
• Cohiba, 36 South St. Tapas 
• Closed, Castle Street.  
• Hour Glass Inn, Melbourne Street. superior pub-type venue 

Splurge

• Café Paradiso, in the Hotel Barcelona, Magdalen Street.  
• ExeShed, Bedford Street.  
• Michael Caine's, in the Royal Clarence Hotel, Cathedral Green.  
• Olive Tree, in the Queen's Court Hotel.  
• St Olave's Court, Mary Arches Street.  

Exeter nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

• The Double Locks, Canal Banks, Exeter, EX2, ☎ 01392 256947, [5]. The Double Locks pub sits in an idyllic location on the edge of Exeter canal, 20 minutes walk from the quayside. Occasional live music, child-friendly, a solid selection of real ales and a reasonable menu. On sunny weekends the pub attracts many punters, and the May Day bank-holiday beer festival can get very busy, with long queues. 
• Imperial, New North Road, Exeter. 10 minutes walk from the city centre, a decently priced J D Weatherspoons pub. 
• The Angel, Queen Street, Exeter, ☎ 01392 422455. A small but cosy bar with a relaxed crowd, the Angel has some good and varied music nights. 
• Timepiece, Little Castle Street, Exeter, EX4 3PX, ☎ 01392 493096, [6]. A bar with a nightclub above.  

Exeter cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

• Southgate Hotel, Southernhay East
• Globe Backpackers, 71 Holloway Street, Tel: 01392 215521, e-mail: info@exeterbackpackers.co.uk, [7].
• Exeter Youth Hostel, 47 Countess Wear Road, Countess Wear. Tel: 01392 873329, e-mail: exeter@yha.org.uk
• Hotel Barcelona, Magdalen Street
• Silver Springs, 12 Richmond Road, St. Davids. Tel: 01392 494040, e-mail: reservations@silversprings.co.uk, £35 single, £65 double
• Great Western Hotel, St David's Station Approach, single £46, double £72, Tel: 01392 274039, e-mail: bookings@greatwesternhotel.co.uk, [8].
• Holiday accommodation at the University of Exeter, [9]
• University Managed Accommodation, [10] for University of Plymouth students based in Exeter.
• ABode Exeter, Royal Clarence Hotel, Cathedral Yard, Tel 01392 319955, [11].

Stay safe

Exeter is very safe compared to other cities in the UK. There is a high likelihood that you will be asked for money by homeless people at some point, but most of them are not aggressive and will simply move onto the next person if you give them a 'No, sorry.'

Cope

Get out

• Topsham A historical town resting on the estuary of the river Exe. Visit Topsham's quality restuarants for it's growing reputation as a dining out town. You can follow cycle paths from Exeter Quay to Topsham along the canal. Bikes and canoes can be hired from Saddles and Paddles [12], No. 4 Kings Wharf, The Quay, Exeter, EX4 2AN, who offer good advice and the local bike route maps.
• Dartmouth a scenic town
• Dartmoor National Park

This page was last edited by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Based on work by N J Mogford, N Mogford, Jack Dann and David, Wikitravel user(s) Morph, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license