Exeter

Tuesday, March 11th, 2014

Exeter, Cathedral, Mom and Moors

I awoke up to the sounds of John downstairs. When I went down, he was standing in the kitchen with his arms spread and looking exasperated. “Didn't we buy milk last night?” he asked. He found the toilet paper but couldn't find (and never did find) the milk. We checked the car and everywhere we could think of, but a real mystery.

We walked downtown from his house looking at the streets, shops and the old city wall. We arrived at Exeter Cathedral, which has the longest unsupported roof in England (or Europe). We went in and signed up for a tour that included the roof. As we were walking around, we were met by John's Mom who lives nearby. The three of us listened to our guide (he told us about the small hole in the door to the bell tower that was a cat door, allowing the cat the chase the mice and rats), and enjoyed the climb up the bell tower to the roof. The view over the city was amazing. The guide explained that they are excavating the front grounds as they have discovered another Roman bath underground.

When we left John's Mom left us (we are seeing her again tomorrow) and we wandered around downtown. I found a HMV store and went in to have a look. I found and bought the new Elbow and Rifles Cds.

Back in the car to drive to the Moors. They are a pretty barren and hilly region with little habitation and mostly short hedges, shrubs and heather. We drove through them to the Burrator Reservoir that provides water for Plymouth. We took a nice hike through the woods surrounding the reservoir. As we walked around we came upon a young man who was being harassed by two large white geese. His girlfriend had managed to get past but he was clearly intimidated. I asked why and he said that when he was small one bit him on the nose! So John and I hopped a fence and went around them while the man made a mad dash! When we were leaving we drove to Dartmoor and saw the infamous prison. Then we went to a pub in a little town to meet Elaine, a friend of John's. She is setting up an adventure traveling company. We had a great dinner and a couple of pints. When we left I lifted a Jail Ale pint glass. We arrived back in Exeter late and headed off to bed.