The River Exe from Topsham
Today was an excellent day. I’ve just about thrown off my cold, and was able to go out and do things today without worrying. And it was warm and mainly sunny – I’ve actually got a bit sun-burned.
This morning I did a guided walk around Exeter, the ‘Roman Walls’ walk. Exeter Information have published three such walks, the others being the Medieval walk and the Woollen walk. All three cover much the same territory – the centre of Exeter isn’t that big – but whereas the focus of the Medieval walk would be the buildings remaining from the middle ages, the Walls walk focused on the remains of the town’s walls. Each studiously ignores content from the other walks, even when they’re right next to each other!
I hadn’t realised that Exeter’s walls were so complete – about 70% of the circuit is still standing. They were Roman in origin, and were subsequently strengthened and re-used by, successively, the Saxons, the Normans, the rulers of medieval England, and were still in use into early modern times – they were still a factor in the defence of Exeter during the Civil War in the 17th century. It was only in the 19th century that objects such as the gates were removed as being no longer useful; indeed, they had become an impediment. One big difference between the Exeter walls and those of York (with which I’m very familiar) is that you can’t walk on the Exeter walls – they’re ruinous, although often very high (3 to 4 metres).
With diversions to see other things that grabbed my attention, this walk occupied me all morning, and was very enjoyable. One other interesting event occurred – I had a coffee in a cafe on the Quay and not just one but two foreign tourists in front of me paid for a coffee (costing a couple of quid) with a £50 note. I’ve never seen one in real life before, but today I saw in the space of two minutes. I mentioned this to the barista and he said the same. He was also worried whether he’d done the right thing – “will I still have a job tomorrow?”
In the afternoon I walked along the Exeter Ship Canal down to Topsham. This was an excellent walk, very peaceful and quiet – well, apart from the roar of traffic on the M5, which runs over the Exe valley on a viaduct. Never mind, the canal (and the river) were beautiful. I crossed the river via the Topsham ferry, which thankfully was still running to its summer timetable; if it hadn’t been it would have been a long walk back to a point where I could cross the river on foot. Then I had some refreshments in Topsham, including a glass of wine – my first drink on this trip. Did it go down well? Oh yes….
Then it was back to Exeter on the train. After showering and changing I ate at Café Rouge, and had an excellent Poulet Breton; and another glass of wine.
All in all, an excellent day.