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Published: August 17th 2022
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Excess at Exeter - Piprey on wheels
Exeter beckons me to its quay- far away from the maddening crowds of London. Being
peak summer holiday season, I booked for a one night weekend stay instead of two. Devon and Cornwall have officially declared
drought. Adapt and progress is the mantra of
recession in England.
Excitedly, I finished last minute packing like putting my toothbrush into the bag. I caught the local bus to Heathrow airport bus station and Flixbus coach to Exeter. In all the confusion, I noticed my local bus arriving late on the bus board. Hence, walked up to the other bus stop. Well in time but the panic was most unnecessary 😊
The coach driver ( Flix) stopped at Reading. I got off and explored a lovely fabric shop with a loads of fabric materials to sew into fancy or daily wear dresses. It reminded me to get some stuff from India and do my own embroidery. It cost me my black baseball cap which I had left behind on my seat.
Reached Exeter around 1 pm. Feeling hungry,
I entered
Mesopotamia- a Middle Eastern shop and bought
Exeter Cathedral- inside
It was painted in rich colours when it functioned as a Catholic church some
exquisite chocolate cakes. The lady at the counter said it was
not halal. I realised I was covered in scarf over my head, mouth and nose with only my eyes visible. Continuing with my Middle Eastern habit, must have looked like a practising muslim.
I bought the ticket at the
Exeter Cathedral reception and rushed to join the ‘
Reformation guided tour’. The knowledgeable guide pointed to sculptures and pictures which were
originally Catholic and white washed to convert the church to
Anglican.
The altar, a huge block of stone was also cut to pieces with great difficulty as it was a solid and even thicker than granite slab of Indian kitchens. The altar represented the body of christ. Holy bread was broken over it to mean the body of Christ
Red guided walking tour organised by Exeter city council was free. I met others at Cathedral Greens by the status of Richard Hooker, an influential English theologian who proposed a moderate view on extremes of Protestantism and catholicism.
A HOT and SUNNY day. With a 22 people group of chirpy Spanish tourists who hoped to catch the cool, cloudy English weather in Exeter, were visibly shocked to experience the same weather here as in Spain. So much for travel.
The guide explained Blitz and buildings were razed to the ground. Instead of making better and more beautiful buildings as done by Germany, Exeter council rebuilt them less tastefully.
Some houses touched the city wall and Cathedral ( to save on an extra wall). These were finally demolished. The area around the cathedral was a cemetery which was cleared to create green space (yellow because of the dry grasses)
"Beer street" was the street where water bearers used to bring fresh water from river Exe. Gandy street was a tannery. In olden days, they used to use urine to treat wool and thousands of bales of wool left the Exe quay daily. Later, industrialisation of
City wall
Observe the different types of rocks used over the ages. the northern England resulted in much of the wool trade moving north. Power from water mills was no match from the power of coal.
A street called
parliament street was so narrow that only a file of people could walk. The Spanish tourists had a fun time clicking photos while the rest of us stocked up our Vitamin D
With so many trendy nail spas all over Exeter, I looked at my nails. I was tempted but I knew that household chores and typing, did not permit us this luxury.
While the
city wall may have originally built by the Romans, over the centuries, Norman, Anglo Saxons etc have rebuilt it, presenting a mosaic of rocks.
Raspberry ripple is the
local rock with a ripple like featuring in grey stone was locally quarried.
I got a pleasant room on top floor in the Inn at the South Gate. After freshening up, walked down to the Quay.
Spotted a recommended fish specialty restaurant and spent a fortune on lovely grilled fish (Gurnard species).
Two raw, cleaned fillets of Gurnard cost 8 GBP from a fishmonger. On the restaurant menu, a fillet grilled with a slice of lemon cost 20 GBP. Tried a locally brewed beer called Pilsner Rockfishand and hated it. East, West or Central, I am definitely not a fan of beer.
The following morning, I walked upstream. Passed an old mill, some bridges etc. It was getting hot again. Returned to
Medieval houses of the priests of the cathedral
It has No 10 and No 11 on both sides of the gate a hearty breakfast and then out to explore the
Victoria and Albert Museum near Gandy street.
I never seen such a vast collection of
star fish fossils. The beautiful collection of
pressed plants and
insect world- capturing the noises of the insects was awesome.
Devon comes in the
famous Jurassic coast. Millions of years ago, Dinosaurs used to roam around here and the tall cliffs even today are full of fossils. During the pandemic, an Devon resident even discovered a full fossil of a dinosaur.
The museum had fascinating collection of dresses, water/windproof outerwear made from the intestines of seals) and exhibits from Polynesia/Africa- transferred me to a different world. The beauty of a good museum.
I walked up to Primark and bought a new baseball cap. Bought a packet of local scones from Sainsbury’s .
Scones made with buttermilk when slightly warmed were delightful when paired with a cup of tea.
On the afternoon walking tour, there was only a Spanish lady and me. The guide patiently showed the medieval houses where the bishop still lived. We walked through a gate which used to be the open area for public burning of people at stake as part of religious persecution.
Guildhall used to be the main
city office.
Massive hooks still stuck to the roof where
butchers hanged their products on market days. Must have been
very atmospheric.
The guide showed us posh
Georgian area of Exeter called Colleton built by Matthew Norsworthy. It overlooked the beautiful quay. The row houses would have been worth a million GBP.
At the quay, the guide showed the
sheltered areas were goods were weighed and
custom duty charged. Must have been chaotic, busy, smelly and dirty. Since the river has silted and a canal had been built. Only tourist boats which ferry people from one shore to another.
I had coffee ice cream and watched a video in the old customs house. Then walked up to the hotel to collect my stuff and to the bus station.
In the bus, I stuck to my seat for 4.10 hours to catch some sleep, resting my arms against the window and pulling the curtains for shade.
Reached home, took a shower and slept.
The next morning, got ready for work. However, there were
red marks all over my hands, legs, neck and body. It started to inflame, blister, become red and horribly itchy. I rubbed lemon and cold water from a wet handkerchief but no relief. I could not take it anymore. After an ordeal of a night, I called a medical emergency and visited by local doctor first thing. She was shocked to see my state and immediately confirmed it was bed
House of the limestone mix workers
Families lived in one room. Exeter faced plague once upon a time. bug bites.
As suspected, the bites made sickle shaped patterns around my left hand which had rested on the window. There were red bite trails on my neck, feet, legs and back. She prescribed steroids and a soothing balm. Finally some relief.
With more than 126 bites, the bed bugs must have enjoyed a feast.
Exeter is a lovely little city with friendly people.(Any place in England is friendlier than London)
Perhaps the geographic distance from the capital, encouraged it to develop its moderate religious views. The economic prosperity must have given it confidence to define its own identity. Most certainly a place to visit but never in a coach and if you do, be prepared for an excess at Exeter 😊
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