Exeter 9/22

7/9/22. We took a bus to the car hire. We drove to Hayton Rocks which were a 30 min walk to great views over Dartmoor. It felt more like autumn weather than summer. Went in to Widecombe a village known for its annual fair and had a pub lunch  then off to Grimspound a Bronze Age settlement with a wall and several houses made from granite boulders.  This was on a single lane road that had worried me but was not too bad as there was not much traffic on it. There were however sheep, cattle and ponies roaming and even laying on the road which we had to drive around! We drove back via Dartmeet a picturesque spot on the Dart river  There was a two hour drive to St Ives mostly on motorways  I had looked at the last part of the journey on google street view and so did not miss a turning

6/9/22. We took a free “Red Coat” tour around the quayside  Exeter was a busy port due to the Wool trade  Very large ships came up the canal that was dug in the 16th century   We walked home via the catacombs and got wet in the rain  

5/9/22.We walked up the town to Exeter University. This is fairlymodern. We looked at the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum. This has early pre cinematic devices that showed moving images without the use of projectors. Douglas was a producer and director and some of his films include these devices. There was a sculptor trail including two Barbara Hepworth bronzes I sketched. We had a cheap chicken lunch at the University cafe. In the afternoon we visited the cathedral which has the longest continuous roof of its type anywhere. 

 4/9/22. We took a boat from the quay to Double Locks and had a pub lunch. I had roast beef which was a Sunday only choice. Very good. We travelled back. The trip involves two swing bridges opened by the two hands on board. We visited the local museum which was much more manageable than the huge museums in London  

 3/9/22. We took a train from Paddington to Exeter, about 2 hours. We walked to our accommodation close to the city centre. We walked around the shops then got a Cornish pasty (two for the price of one) for dinner.