Exploring Exeter Quayside: The Hidden Gems You Never Knew About

Join us on a journey to uncover the secrets of Exeter Quayside in Devon, a treasure trove of hidden gems waiting to be discovered!
From historic landmarks to quaint cafes, and from scenic walks to unique shopping experiences, we’ll take you on a tour of the best-kept secrets of this charming destination.
Whether you’re a local looking to explore your own backyard or a visitor seeking an authentic experience, this video is your ultimate guide to Exeter Quayside’s hidden gems.
So, sit back, relax, and get ready to discover the real Devon!

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#ExeterQuay #Devon #Woolentraildevon #history #freedomlifestyle #river #boats #customhouse

We’re in Exeter today.
Well more importantly, Exeter Quay.  What a beautiful place to visit on 
such a sunny day as it is today.  So Deb, what are we going to have a look at today?
Well, it’s such a beautiful day,   so aren’t we lucky?
We’re going to start off on this side of   the quay and then we will cross over the bridge.
We will have a stop at the Customs House,   which is one of the oldest buildings in 
the quay and quite a famous building.  Then we’ll take a stroll along a couple of 
the restaurants that are along this way.  And also there’s some really quirky, 
quaint little shops that are built   in what almost look like caves.
So we’ll have a little look in them.  Then we’ll take a stroll along the riverbank to 
the weir—we’ll come to the weir at that point.  Yeah, that was built in—that was started 
in 1500s or something, wasn’t it?  Can’t remember now.
Maybe we’ll put the date on.  And then just past the weir there’s a 
suspension bridge which we will walk across.  Then we will make our way back up the other 
side of the canal and come to a small brewery   that is quite well known in the area.
And a little sort of piazza area where,   um, on a day like today, it’s beautiful for people 
to come and sit and have some coffee and cake or   something to eat, a spot of lunch.
And then we’ll finish off probably,   with a clip of the climbing centre 
which is called Clip and Climb.  So yeah.
Yeah.  So it’s the opposite—it’s the opposite 
side of the key that we’ll end up on  which will be great fun.
So why not join us?  If you like these kind of videos, 
please, click the bell and,   um, why not subscribe to see more of these?
We look forward to you joining us on this   adventure today of walking around the Quay.
Yes.  And let us know, what is your 
favourite place in the key?  Where do you like to pop along to and 
maybe have a coffee or even a beer?  Yeah.
Or even any other videos you’d like us to make. So here’s the Quayside Café.  And I’ve heard some really 
good things about this place.  I think you can get some delicious 
ice creams and puddings and snacks.  And it’s just before the bridge 
that we’re going to cross over.  So this is our first bridge that we’re going to 
cross over to the other side of the riverbank.  We’ve definitely chosen a great day today.
Yes.  Look at that river.
It’s just so beautiful, isn’t it?  Yes.
And what’s great about this walk is it’s   really flat so any abilities can do it.
Yeah.  We see a lot of young mums with their 
kids—babies or toddlers in the area.  And a lot of elderly because it is such a lovely 
walk and it’s, uh—as you say, Deb—very flat.  The walk is completely flat.
Yes, it’s perfect. So here we are just outside 
three really nice places to eat.  I’ve been in all three and I’ve 
had nice food in all of them.  So you can pick and choose, really—have a 
look at the menu, see what takes your fancy. The Custom House was built in 1680 in response 
to the increasing trade seen at Exit Quay,   particularly of the wool and cloth industry.
Though the quay had existed since Roman times,   the construction of the Exeter Ship Canal in 
1564 led to a considerable increase in trade.  The Custom House was built by a man called Richard 
Allen for a cost of £3,000, and it still stands   today looking as beautiful as ever.
It is stunning, isn’t it?  It’s a lovely building.
Gorgeous. These pair of cannons were actually cast 
in Scotland for the Russian—the Russian   Empire—and the Russians basically didn’t pay.
So Customs kept them and they are a nice trophy   sitting at the front of the Customs House, which 
were to be delivered to Russia from this port. These two cannons are just being moved from 
the Customs House down to the east quayside of,   Exeter Quay, which is the basin which we will 
be going down to towards the end of this video.  So we should show you roughly 
where we think they’re going. So now we’re on the other side of the quay.
As you can see, we’re walking along and there’s   a lovely riverside café there.
Plenty of places to stop and   have a rest, a drink, something to eat.  Lots of students about today, which 
is quite common during the week. And then to our left there’s a 
couple of eating establishments.  One of them does quite famous pizzas, 
and they call them “dustbin lids.”  That’s The Waterfront, isn’t it?
Which is the one with the blue—is   it blue canopies out the front?
The blue canopies out the front.  And they do dustbin lid pizzas—basically 
a pizza the size of a dustbin lid.  And yes, I have eaten one—as 
you can see by my waistline.  And you actually managed to eat it all.  I did, yes.
Which was lovely.  Definitely worth popping in for the pizza.
Yeah.  What I would recommend is booking though because 
it gets really busy, especially on, you know,   pleasant days like today—weekends and evenings.
Yeah. Look at that beautiful water glistening.
Yes.  As you can see, it’s a very popular site.
This is midweek, and we’ve got a lot of   school kids down here—obviously 
on a day out—and people enjoying   the wonderful weather, having a beer or two.
And, there’s a couple of little shops along here.  We’ve popped into these before, haven’t we, Deb?
Yeah.  Some nice little quirky things in there.
Maybe we’ll pop into one or two.  Okay.
It’s more sole traders, isn’t it?  It’s little one-man bands.
Yes.  They’re small businesses.
Small businesses.  Little units that are in the side of the, 
uh—it looks like the side of the hill here.  I’m guessing these would have 
been old warehouses, I suppose,   back in the day.
Yes.  I think they would have been for 
storage at the port, as a guess. Let’s go and pop into Spangles.
Looks like an interesting shop.  What a lovely little shop.
Lovely trinkets.  The fire trees.
This looks interesting.  Look at these.
Aren’t they stunning?  Very unusual.
Yes.  Look.
Oh, we have to go in.  Look at this one.
They definitely look handmade, don’t they?  They do.
And the detail in this.  Voltage—made using voltage electricity.  How clever.
Stunning, aren’t they?  Yes.
And look at this, Deb. Bread of Heaven. Bread of Heaven. Well, 
obviously, being a Welsh girl, that’s a   very famous Welsh song, that is… Bread of Heaven 
“feed me till I want no more.” Wow. I like that. Hello. Good morning you alright there. Hello. How are you doing? I’m good. How are 
you? Yeah, good as well. Thank you. We love   this little shop. I was just interested to 
know, looks like you make a lot of it on   site. Yep. Quite a bit of it made on site, and 
we’ve got even an even bigger workshop at home   as well. Wow. So we’ve doubled up just in case we
want to do some things here. Get most of it done. And how long have you been here? So we’ve taken over the shop from within 
the family—say about, it’s about covid time,   so five years ago roughly. Um, but the 
shop has been doing similar work in,   my uncle’s ownership basically. Funny 
enough, we’ve got one last piece—the   mirror up there called Winterwood. That 
was what it’s originally called. Okay. Um,   yeah. And he’s been doing this in here for 
probably 15 more years before we took it   over. So it’s at least been doing woodwork for, 
say, 20 years or something. Yeah. Lovely. Oh,   it’s lovely. What an unusual shop to find. Yeah. 
Thank you very much. No, no problem at all. What’s your name? My name’s Tristan. Hi Tristan, I’m Patrick. 
This is Debbie. Maybe we’ll put a link to   your shop on our video, if that’s okay. 
Definitely do so. All right. And you picked   a good day for it. So the weather out for once. 
Excellent. Right, we’ll leave you to it, and,   if you don’t mind, we’ll carry on filming 
the shop. Absolutely. Feel free. All right.   Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too. 
All right. Cheers, Tristan. No problem. They’re so unusual, aren’t they? I’ve never seen anything like it. 
Eat, drink and be merry. Yeah,   that’s our motto, isn’t it? 
It’s definitely our motto. So here we have a little ferry that goes across from this side across 
to the other side of the quay. And I   think it’s about 80p per person. So 
if you don’t want to walk around,   you can always catch the ferry. What 
a quirky little feature. How lovely. There’s a little pub, the Port Royal,
as you’re walking up towards the weir   and the entrance to the canal, which is 
over there. During the summer, this is   just rammed—absolutely rammed with punters. 
Shame it’s not open yet. Maybe it’s seasonal.  And this is about I don’t 
know 5 minutes walk from the quay up towards the weir. Look at this cute bridge 
This is very pretty and just at the weir Oh and I spot a swan and a swan’s nest 
just up here on the left. That is some nest Look at the size of it – I wonder 
how many eggs she’s got under there. She’s got a perfect spot there in the middle. You’ll often see lots of swans along this   river don’t you? In the quay.
It’s lovely to see one nesting.  Now I’m not sure if you can hear the sound 
of that weir but it sounds really powerful to   me. And it looks quite powerful. And look at 
all of the beautiful wildlife enjoying it   taking a dip. It’s quite hot today, I 
wouldn’t mind a dip myself actually. The river running down from the weir to Trews suspension bridge. So here we are at Trews suspension bridge, 
which is for bicycles and pedestrians.  Does it actually move when you stand on it?
Yes, it’s a suspension bridge. So yes, it moves,   and it was built in 1935.
Wow. So it’s done well.  Yeah. And look at the view up to the weir from 
the bridge all the way to the quay beyond.  Yes. How lovely.
And the sound—hopefully   you can hear the sound of the weir. 
Someone’s seat down there at the back   of their house. Lovely place to 
sit and snooze the afternoon away. Then the river continues all the way to Topsham. 
And then it goes into the estuary, out to sea.   You can’t beat a riverside walk, can you? It’s 
so calming. Stunning, isn’t it? I don’t know if   you can hear all the birds tweeting away.
And here we have an area where the water   overflows if there’s any flooding.
As you can see, this is all wetland,   and the water board built and 
runs this flood overflow area. One thing with this area—it 
is absolutely an outdoor   leisure area. Cyclists, pedestrians everywhere.  So as you can see on the left, lots 
of people enjoying the water today.  There’s a little canoe, a 
little wooden boat as well.  And I think that’s called 
a Canadian canoe actually.  Oh, is it?
Yeah.  Well, you know more than me.
It’s only a guess.  Please, please, tell us if 
we’re wrong in the comments. Yes. But yes, there’s a few 
places along here that you can   hire all kinds of equipment—paddleboards, 
canoes, kayaks and even bikes.  So if you fancy a bike ride 
and you don’t have your own,   you could just hire one.
Sounds good to me. So basically what we’re finding 
is that the Exeter Quay is full   of activity—from the active life to 
just sitting there and having a pint.  Yes.
There’s plenty of people   that just come and do that.
Yes. So like us, a gentle walk.  Some people run because it’s so flat 
and it’s a lovely area to walk and run.  Some people cycle.
And then you get the   mums—the mums love it, as you can see—taking 
the little ‘uns out on a beautiful summer’s day. Here we are at the Quay Basin, 
where there’s workshops and   places for people to moor their boats.
Now, if you wanted to go up the quay and   then up the canal which takes you out to sea 
past Topsham Estuary, you have to go through   the lock.
And there’s many   locks—there’s a couple of locks along 
the canal—but this is the first one.  This is the first lock that 
separates the river from the canal. So here is one of the stops on the Woollen Trail, 
which apparently is a walk you can do from Exeter   that clearly brings you down to the quay.
Because back in the day, they obviously used   to make all their woollen produce and bring 
it down to the quay for it to be shipped off.  And it says here, in the 13th century, the 
Courtenay family of Devon owned Topsham and   other landing places along the River Exe.
Earlier, small boats may have made it up   the river to Exeter, although ships 
would have stayed in the estuary. Legend has it that Isabel, Countess of Devon, 
built a weir across the river below Exeter,   stopping the boats and forcing the city merchants 
to use Topsham Quay and to pay her dues.  Very shrewd woman she was there, if that’s true. So here we are in the what I called earlier 
the piazza sort of area of the quay.  And this is the lovely Rockfish 
restaurant, selling fresh fish each day. And then opposite is the Topsham Brewery, which 
on a summer’s evening is usually packed full   of people enjoying a drink from the brewery.
I believe they’ve got their own distillery in   there, haven’t they, Deb?
Yes. And there’s a bar in there that 
obviously you can get your drinks   and it’s a very popular place 
in the evenings and weekends.  And then there’s some boat 
hire places across the way. In the distance there is the Clip 
and Climb Centre—the big building.  And then to our right is an array 
of cafés and little eating places.  I think one of them is a 
vegetarian place at the moment. Plenty of choice in this lovely area.
So it’s a great day to spend here, isn’t it? For a couple, even if you’re 
on your own or with a family—  I mean, there’s lots to do for everyone and it’s 
a lovely place to come and enjoy a lovely day out. We’d recommend it.
Would you recommend it, Deb?  Oh, definitely. It’s quite surprising how 
much there is going on in Exeter Quay. So I hope you enjoyed this 
video that we’ve done for you.  And if you’d like to, hit the like button 
and subscribe, because it really helps us—  really helps us to get our videos 
out to more and more people who   are interested in travel, daily events 
and just freedom lifestyle in general. Anything you’d like to say, Deb?
Only take care, everyone, and we’ll   catch you in the next video.
Bye-bye.