Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The nearby
Quay House
was built in 1680 as a wool store and today houses the Quay
House Visitor Centre. Wool-trade-related exhibits include 'tillet blocks' - carved wooden
tiles used by merchants to stamp their crests onto fabric. One shows a weaver sitting at a
loom. The centre also stocks leaflets detailing other stops on Exeter's Woollen Trail.
The quay is also the springboard for walks, and bike and canoe voyages. Boat trips and
summer-time free guided tours leave from here too. To cross the river head for bathtub-
like
Butt's Ferry
(The Quay; adult/child 30/20p; 11.30am-4.30pm daily Jun-Aug, Sat & Sun Easter-May & Sep)
,
which is propelled by a ferryman pulling on a wire.
GALLERY
Spacex
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
( 01392-431786;
www.spacex.org.uk
; 45 Preston St; 10am-5pm Tue-Sat)
A leader among
Exeter's buoyant visual arts scene, cutting-edge but friendly Spacex has a reputation for
consistently strong, accessible contemporary art exhibitions. It also offers engaging work-
shops for adults and children, and regular free artists' talks.
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
EXETER LIVESTOCK MARKET
The red hills around Exeter are prime agricultural territory; often generations of the same family have farmed the
same patch of land. Although the scenery is beautiful, it can be hard to get a sense of what life is really like at the
end of the farm lane. Find out at the twice-weekly auctions at
Exeter Livestock Market
(
01392-251261;
www.kivells.com
;
Matford Park Rd, Exeter; sales usually 9.30am Mon & Fri, check for details) .
You get to join the farmers leaning on the showing rings' circular rails, while the auctioneer's sing-song chant
raises the price. Then have lunch with the buyers and sellers in the on-site eatery. Full of specialised language
(prime stock and store stock, suckler cows and breeding bulls) and ripe smells of the farm, it's an authentic in-
sight into rural Devon life.
Activities
The foot and cycle paths that head southeast from Exeter Quay join the
Exe Valley Way
,
shadowing both the Exeter Canal and an ever-broadening River Exe towards the sea,
around 10 miles away. They make for good biking, hiking and kayaking trips; the first 3
miles are a blend of heritage city, countryside and light industrial landscape; the later sec-
tions are more rural.
