Exeter's cathedral has the longest unbroken medieval vault in the world, a stone ceiling that runs for about ninety-six metres without interruption, and it looks like a stand of enormous palm trees sprouting from the pillars. The building is mostly fourteenth century, and its west front is crowded with weathered statues of kings and saints. It stands in a grassy close just a few streets from the centre of the city, which for a settlement of this age is quite normal. The Romans founded the town as Isca Dumnoniorum around AD 50, and parts of their wall still stand beside the cathedral and under the pavements.
The city has had a hard time. During the Second World War, in the Baedeker raids of 1942, German bombers destroyed much of the old centre, and the shopping streets around the cathedral were rebuilt in the plain style of the postwar years. Enough survived to make it interesting, though. The Quay on the river Exe has cafés in old warehouses, and beneath the High Street a network of medieval vaulted passages that once carried water to the city can be explored on guided tours. A strong student population from the University of Exeter keeps the town lively.
Exeter is the gateway to Devon, and for riders that means moors and coast. To the west, the A30 and B roads climb toward Dartmoor, with its granite tors and ponies, and the high roads across the moor offer open views and tight bends. To the east lie the lanes of the Axe valley and the Jurassic Coast, where cliffs expose layers of rock from the Triassic to the Cretaceous. Devon lanes are famously narrow, sunk between high hedges, with blind corners, tractors, and mud and gravel at field entrances, so keep speed modest. Rain and sea fog come easily.
Everything a rider needs is in the city. Fuel stations and bike shops are on the ring road, and there are plenty of places to eat, from pubs to cafés that serve cream teas. Devon pours cream first, then jam, which Cornwall disputes. The city is a big one, with traffic, so avoid the rush hour on the main routes. Late spring is perhaps the best time, when hedges are in flower.