As week three draws to a close, many of you freshers will have just completed the most intense few weeks of your university experience. Quickly, you might be beginning to make observations of how ‘small Exeter is’ and ‘it feels as if everyone knows everyone’ (also totally normal if those thoughts feel alien, I had no idea what I was doing until 2nd year). Exeter has an array of gems which you will continue to find over the next few years however if Exeter ever becomes too much whether that be from the workload, the social life, or if the hangxiety is just that bit too intense, why not look further afield?
All under an hour away, there are so many surrounding towns to explore while studying down in Devon. Here are just a few of my favourites:
Exmouth, there is just no escaping it! The beautiful seaside town which sees many students flood down during term three (picture Law Library meets TP Wednesday), the two-mile stretch of sand is the perfect place to head down to with friends. Spend the day in and out of the sea and then grab yourself a bit of food from one of the restaurants along the seafront. All this is just half an hour from Exeter St Davids and costs £4.25; that’s with a railcard which is always a must!
Then of course just under an hour away is Plymouth, for those local to Exeter perhaps they avoid the city due to sporting rivalries, but you are at university for a good time and not a long time so go and check it out! I would recommend starting at the Drake Circus shopping Centre, it is massive, and you’ll easily be in there for hours, or like me head into the Apple store and end up getting a demo on the Apple Vision Pro headset, now that is a different article altogether! After cruising the shopping Centre head on down to The Barbican, Plymouth’s old port, full of narrow cobbled streets, Elizabethan warehouses, specialist shops, art galleries, cafes, and restaurants. If you want a chill day this is the perfect vibe although if you’re looking to make an evening of it this place gets very lively on the weekend! The last train is just before midnight…
And of course, even closer to home we’ve got Topsham, Dawlish, and Torquay, all other towns you must visit during your time here.
My final suggestion if you need a bit of time out of Exeter and Devon itself, is Cornwall. This does depend on knowing someone with a car in Exeter as journeys to the beautiful beaches of Watergate or Polzeath can sometimes take up to two hours, but the journey is so worth it! The beauty of being this close to Cornwall is those beaches which are usually rammed with tourists in the summer are relatively quiet in the off-season therefore if you can get down there, I really recommend it!
These are only a few suggestions and even as the ancient third year I am, I still worry I haven’t explored enough of Devon and Cornwall although while writing this I am reassuring myself I still have time…
Give some of these destinations a try, sometimes a change of scenery can be so good for the soul! Who knows maybe heaven really is in Devon?
