Exeter

We spent four nights in Exeter, which made a good first stop on our trip. There was enough to do to be interesting, yet we didn't feel the need to rush around with jet lag. We could easily have filled another couple of days in the area.

Day 0: Home to London

We flew out of our local airport because it was actually cheaper than flying from Detroit. We were able to use airmiles for one ticket and saved a couple of hundred dollars on the other. We did end up with long layovers in Detroit thanks to schedule changes. We shared a pizza at Andiamo in DTW. Pretty good pizza, especially for an airport. Our flight from Detroit was delayed but it didn’t matter to us since we didn’t have a connecting flight.

Day 1: London to Exeter

We got lucky with train schedules at Paddington. The Heathrow Express got us there in time to comfortably make the 12:35 train to Exeter. After sitting in the airport, on a plane, then on a train we were very tired of sitting. We had a free can of Cornish lager from St. Austell in our room so we had that on our surprise terrace.

I’d booked a table for us at the Mill on the Exe pub, where we had a couple of pints of Proper Job, Tribute, and Maverick, followed up with fish and chips for dinner. I would recommend booking a table; we saw people get turned away.

Day 2: A Walk Along the River Exe

After a good night’s sleep and a full English breakfast we were ready for a little activity. We walked over the nearby bridge past the millstone to a Tesco Express for instant coffee and biscuits (cookies). They only had chocolate covered Hobnobs so we bought the Biscoff biscuits they serve on the plane.

Then we walked down the river a little ways. We saw some seagulls, some hungry ducks, some swans, and a cormorant.

We had a nap before going up to the pub terrace for a beer around 3:00 because it was sunny and then had dinner at 7:00. The pub has lots of seating options: indoors in a conservatory or the cozy pub, outdoors under cover or in the sun.

The photo on the right shows the water channel right next to the old mill. Our room was under the bay window.

Day 3: Exeter Cathedral and the Quay

We thought about going to Okehampton today but ended up staying in town and going to Exeter cathedral. It sounds like the weather might be a little better tomorrow.

Then we walked over to the Quay, which took us along the old city walls. The Quay is probably more fun when the weather is better. We walked through some of the heaviest showers of the trip today. (And were glad we chose not to do the longer walk.) We walked back to our place for a couple of pints and dinner.

Day 4: A Walk from Okehampton

We took the train from Exeter to Okehampton and back and walked up East Hill. We saw lots of other walkers and tourists on the train. We had beer outdoors again when we got back because it was sunny. We got lucky with the weather today; no rain other than when we were under trees. There was a women’s rugby world cup match in town today so things were busy.

Essentials

Lodging

Our room at the Mill on the Exe was spacious and quiet, despite being attached to a pub. The terrace was an unexpected bonus and the shower was unusually large. The breakfast room/restaurant is nice and airy and the pub is cozy.

Dining

We liked the food and service so much at the Mill on the Exe — and it couldn’t be more convenient, we didn’t even have to go outside — we ate there every night. We had maybe the best fish and chips of the trip. We also tried lamb burgers and pork sirloin. All of it was good, and they had a nice beer selection too. There are lots of other choices in Exeter.

Transportation

We used the train to get there and to Okehampton. Exeter itself was easy to walk around.