You're in the 'we're gonna have a party carriage!' LOL

You would never think that you are in a city when you stand in these gardens and listen to the birdsong.... and peace and quiet surrounds you.

And that is what I love about Exeter ; there are so many green spaces and hidden places and you don't have to walk far to find them.

The Rougemont Gardens are a few seconds from the city centre and thus peace and quiet lives side by side with hustle, bustle and noise... and neither really interupts the other.

This is where Shakespeare in the Gardens has taken place in previous years.

This would be your view if you were sitting in the audience and the natural bowl lend itself to the perfect setting.

...especially for 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' !

This is Rougemont Castle, nowadays the setting for many events, including a concert by Coldplay, last year!

Moving on ..here's a little bit of history if you are wanting to find out more:

http://www.exetermemories.co.uk/em/_buildings/castle.php

http://www.exetercastle.co.uk/

I very much enjoyed my wander through the gardens yesterday.

But that was just the beginning of the very long walk around Exeter .

We left the gardens.

I had a date with a mural...

Here is a welcome splash of colour just when you are least expecting it!

It's situated near the library.

Exeter has a number of murals .

This one depicts a little of the history of Exeter and it looked to me as if this one had been recently renovated!

But move on we had to!

So much to do and so little time!!

After a quick sandwich and a drink, sitting by the Cathedral and listening to the choir

practising, we were striding down to Exeter Quay!

Pink Valerian is everywhere!

It takes less than ten minutes to walk down to Exeter Quay...a tad longer to walk back up, depending on the route that you choose to take.
But you won't be disappointed.

There's a small antiques and collectables shop and there are also plenty of places to eat and drink.

It's a place alive and yet another reminder of Exeter's past in the form of its maritime history.

Time to move on...

Passing the very famous 'House that moved' , we took a different route back, passing the oldest medieval bridge in England.

And we cleverly found ourselves at the bottom of Fore Street, where there just happens to be the best jolly junk shop ever!

You can't beat Otto .

It's junk at its best!

The stock turns over quicker than anything I have ever known, probably because the prices are so reasonable.

As we walked up Fore Street, not having ventured anywhere near a 'clone shop', I suddenly felt quite weary.

Just when I thought I'd had a day filled with culture and fine things...the journey home ,as usual was eventful!

We arrived at Dawlish Warren and all of a sudden...loud words were shouted through the window:

'You're in the we're gonna have a party carriage'

(Yeah it had to be my carriage, didn't it?!)

Invaded! By a stag party!

So... I found myself sitting with a Viking Warrior!

(Like you do!)

And a guy with red and green tights...

A day, which had been very much a step back into history, was suddenly catapulted forward, to present time !

Or was it?

The man with the tights could have stepped right out of that mural

AND

I do believe that the Vikings attacked Exeter in around the year 1001 !

So maybe past and present are far more intertwined than we realise!!

Or maybe I had just dropped off briefly and got my history completely muddled!

Whatever...

I ended the day with a huge smile on my face!

And if I can do that, then I know that I've had a really good day !!

Exeter at its best...my guided tour is now over!

Hope your Saturday was as good!

;-)