Read my Ely travelogue here.

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve done a city break, so let’s go to the ninth city on my list: Exeter.

Exeter is in Devon 194 miles Southwest of London. It has a simple etymology. The “exe” refers to the river Exe which is where the Romans built a castle almost two thousands years ago. And, as we all know by now, if a city name contains some type of derivation of “caster,” it was probably the site of a Roman castle.

My journey to Exeter began at London Paddington at 9.37. My GWR train was only a quarter full. Although I did have a neighbour, she soon abandoned me for an empty seat. So I had plenty of leg room! Glory hallelujah!

I arrived at Exeter St. David’s roundabouts midday.

Exeter has a few different stations: St David’s, Exeter Central and St Thomas. I chose St. David’s because I would have had to have paid more to go via Central. And I needed to go through St David’s to get to Central anyway. What a load of nonsense.

Turns out it wasn’t nonsense at all, because St. David’s is at the bottom of the hill. And to get to the city centre, where Exeter Central is, you have to go up the hill. Maybe I should have gone to Exeter Central in the first place. If I had done any type of forward-planning I would have known this, but that would have defeated the spontaneous nature of these trips, so shoulda, woulda, coulda.

As I was vaguely going in the direction of the city centre, see previous comment about forward-planning, I stumbled upon St. David’s church – the first of many churches within Exeter. And I also found Exeter College which would explain the copious amounts of young people I saw.

Anyway, into the church I went. I am no great church afficionado, so imagine your standard C of E church. St David’s was something similar. Picture stained-glass, gilded gold and plenty of pews and candles. But they also had something you wouldn’t get in your average C of E church. They had prayers cards in the shape of doves, which would then be hung from the ceiling. The dove is the bird of peace, so very apropos. They also had a small free-food station, where I helped myself to a mini baguette. Grated, it was a bit stale, but it was free! Don’t worry if you can’t imagine this all, because that’s why I took pictures.

I left the church at half-twelvish, my stomach having been sated for now, and I continued meandering toward the city centre and Exeter Cathedral. My meandering saw me take a detour through Northernhay Gardens – a park that has existed for centuries. It was very pretty, complete with cherry blossoms, war memorials and the historical Roman wall.

But I navigated through the park into the city centre and eventually to Exeter Cathedral. The time? Let’s say it was 12.45, because it was.

Anyway, I only paid £6 to enter the cathedral, because I used my student discount. They didn’t even ask to see my student card! The wonders that confidence will do sometimes. The cathedral was far grander than the C of E church, go figure, dating back almost a thousand years. Although its altar was closed for renovation, it still had gorgeous stained-glass, serene chapels and that lovely silence you get with churches. But it also had a touching exhibit on the countries currently at war. Newsflash! It’s a lot. We are a destructive species.

At one, it was time for lunch, so I returned to my Nomadic ways. Firstly, I made a pitstop at a BHF charity shop where I picked up four films: The Life of David Gale, Michael Clayton, Zero Dark Thirty and the Illusionist. They’re all on the the top 1000 films of all time. At 50p a film, how could I refuse? Well, very easily, I imagine, but #treatyoself.

From here I descended into the city’s West quarter past a bunch of closed shops. I think I had wandered into Exeter’s bohemian, hippie area for there were shops promoting pottery workshops, bongs and nuclear disarmament. I was half-expecting to see the resurrected John Lennon singing “imagine, there’s no people.”

At the end of the quarter was yet another section of the old city wall. I also passed Jing Dao – a sushi bar where I stopped for lunch. I ordered Chicken Katsu curry – a favourite of mine. It came out suspiciously quick, but it was still nice enough. Now I’m no foodie or food blogger or travel blogger for that matter, but I thought the sauce had a mild spice and the battered chicken was crispy. Plus the restaurant was nicely decorated. At £16 with a drink, the meal was on par with London prices.

At two-ish, I headed to the free Albert Memorial museum. Remember what I was saying about forward-planning? Well, this museum was part of a very vague plan – I had read about it online. Alas I had forgotten that it was closed on Mondays. And what was the day today? Monday. It was not meant to be. C’est la vie!

Instead I wandered around the local shopping centre where I miraculously found the only Wilkinson’s to escape the entire chain’s collapse.

I also found a series of food trucks where I could have bought lunch for half the prince of Jing Dao, which definitely irked me. But if I wanted to save money, I would have gone to Greggs. Hell, if I wanted to save money, I wouldn’t have even gone to Exeter, so as the French say “C’est comme ca.”

I also went to the local CEX store where I bought another four films on my list: La Haine, Sunshine, Seabiscuit and the Kite Runner. It was nearly three at this time, so I headed down to the River Exe, briefly stopping in a Catholic church, before witnessing some of the most philosophical graffiti ever.

Hitherto, the weather had been the typical UK grey, but now the sun was coming out and I was getting hot. But it was worth it, as it was so pretty down by the river. It was par with the River Dee in Chester.

I meandered down the river, taking a lovely break on some boulders as the sun filled my body and soul with much-needed warmth, before the river disappeared behind a wall of vegetation, and I had to cross to the other side.

Alas, I was to follow the river no longer. Instead, I headed through some wetlands into the Riverside Valley Park. And here, I just walked and walked. I walked a lot further than I had originally planned. I walked at least a mile through the wetland past cute little dog people and every single cyclist and jogger in existence. Eventually, I stumbled upon the shipping canal and a charming little pub by two canal locks. I say “charming.” I only saw it from the outside. I didn’t go in. Instead, I headed back to civilisation. An hour had flown by; I had had no intention of spending so long here. I thought it was high time I get a beer before I headed home.

As I neared town, I spotted an independent brewery that I wanted to drink in. However, I thought I best double-check whether the station was near or not. Rather than being normal and checking my phone, I headed to the river and saw on a sign that St. David’s was a half-hour walk via the river. Presumably, it would have been faster if I had cut through the city, but I didn’t want to walk back uphill. My feet were already sore.

I’m glad I checked too. Could you imagine if I had come out that hipster brewery and discovered the station was thirty minutes away? At least, now I had plenty of time to reach St. David’s.

I continued along the river for another fifteen minutes, which made for a pretty walk. Eventually, I had to head in-land where I saw none other than Danny Devito!

I arrived at the station at 5.10 to find my 5.51 train had been delayed to 5.59. I totally would have had time for a pint! Instead, I went to the local kebabbie and got some chips to silence my growling stomach. I know this is hard-hitting journalism, right? Lol.

But my train home didn’t come at 5.59. Instead, it arrived at 6.05. At least, it was relatively empty. However, we arrived in Paddington fifteen minutes late. And, you know, I’ll be applying for compensation.

Where does Exeter rank on my arbitrary scale? In the middle somewhere. There was some gorgeous scenery, but I hadn’t picked the best day to visit. Half of the city seemed to be closed on Mondays. Anyway, Gloucester! You’re next.