To get you exploring the city before you head homeward, Jessica Stanier, Features Editor, recommends a handful of unusual spots across the city….
Cakeadoodledoo (The Café)
Cakeadoodledoo is a charming little café tucked around the corner from Exeter Cathedral. It’s also the only possible word that springs to mind when you try their amazing carrot cake. Everything is freshly baked on site and tastes incredible. On warm afternoons, their tea garden is flooded with Devonshire sunshine, making it the perfect place to take family out before you head home for the summer.
PICTURE BY MATT AUSTIN
copyright Matt Austin.
The Real McCoy (The Fashion Outlet)
When you’ve traipsed around many vintage clothing stores in your time, you’ll know when you stumble across a good one. The Real McCoy has a carefully curated selection of quality garments and home decor from the 20th century, not to mention the ace café next door. Hidden at the end of the McCoy Arcade, it’s good fun to browse and the price tags don’t make your eyes water. Too much.
Book Cycle (The Bookshop)
Think twice before heading down to Waterstones for your summer reads – this hidden gem is a bookshop with a difference. In a higgledy-piggledy 500 year old house on West Street, Book Cycle runs a scheme to send free reading material to schools and orphanages around the world, as well as planting new trees in Devon. You can choose how much to donate in exchange for up to 3 books each day you visit. There are some really unusual books and bargains to be had, as well as a snug corner on the first floor to curl up and read on a rainy day.
The Glorious Gallery (The Exhibition)
Located on the third floor at The Glorious Art House, this small gallery showcases a wide range local artists, having held 11 exhibitions already this year. From oil paintings to mosaics, sculptures and prints, I’ve seen some truly imaginative pieces at the Glorious Gallery, with occasional references to the city of Exeter itself. The café downstairs also happens to serve the best coffee I’ve had in Exeter, served in colourful, dainty teacups and saucers.
Medieval Exe Bridge (The Picnic Spot)
If Bury Meadow Park and Cathedral Green are too mainstream for your picnic, move your blanket over to the Medieval Exe Bridge. Completed in c1238 and once bearing the weight of three chapels, the bridge’s remaining arches provide some welcome shade on sunny days. Close to a string of food shops and cafés on Fore Street, and just a stone’s throw from the river, it’s a seriously underrated picnic spot and a great place to celebrate the end of the academic year.
Jessica Stanier, Features Editor
I’ve always wanted to visit Exeter but have no idea why because I knew absolutely nothing about it until reading this post. I think I was right in wanting to visit though because it sounds like an awesome city!