Synopsis: The Exeter Green Circle is a designated walk route for which there is an information pack available from tourist information. It incorporates several of the city’s nature parks.
(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album) Saturday came around, I had no walk prepared, and it was wet and windy. The weather forecast predicted the weather would improve through the day, so I decided upon doing this Exeter Green Circle walk that had been sitting in a drawer for over a year. First thing to be done was put a meal together in the slow cooker, Devon Turkey, cooked in cider, which has been a favourite recipe of mine for some time. I then set about preparing the route for my GPS. By mid-day I was ready for the off. By this time the worst of the weather had cleared, true to forecast, and the sun was out.
St Katherine's PrioryEarly into the route the way took me past St Katherine’s Priory which strangely appears to be a private dwelling therefore it is only possible to catch a glimpse of it from the gates. The nuns had built a dam across Mincinglake valley over 600 years ago, which powered their cornmill and provided fish for the table.
Mincing Lake Valley Park
Crossing Calthorpe Road I entered Mincinglake Valley Park, once site of the city’s rubbish tip. Today the place looks like a slice of countryside right on the doorstep of the city and I immediately felt like I’d escaped the urban sprawl. The track opens out to views across the hills festooned with an army of dog walkers. From here there’s a gradual climb as the route takes me towards the back of Pennsylvania. I find a log to sit on near the top of Stoke Hill and stop to eat a light snack lunch.
Streatham EstateThe walk then took me alongside the Duryard Valley Park which I momentarily peek into and find that there are superb views over the north eastern hills that bound the city. From here the track I followed takes me into the grounds of the University of Exeter, an area known as the Streatham Estate. These are landscaped grounds, arboretum and sculpture trail (although I didn’t see any sculptures). There’s a stream that runs down the valley which broadens out in the lower section where it forms a lake and bog garden.
After crossing Prince Charles road the path deflects down Hoopern Valley where cattle graze in a setting overlooked by some of the main buildings of the University of Exeter, buildings such as Washington Singer which was built in 1931.
Guys Hylton AllotmentsI dropped down through Bury Meadow Park, past the churches of St David’s and St Michael’s, cut under the Iron Bridge, an imposing structure, and was soon at Miller’s Crossing, a modern bridge over the River Exe. After walking across the Flowerpot Playing Fields I cut under a railway bridge and skirt around the Guys Hylton Allotments dotted with ramshackle sheds and the gardeners tending their lots. It seems to me this is as good a way as any to transcend the hurly burly of modern life. A modern day hermitage for agnostics, their sheds being their shrines.
Barley Valley Local Nature Reserve
I had of course by now lost all the height I’d previously gained, and now was the time to regain it by swooping around Exwick Cemetery and climbing through Cemetery Field, a former brickpit, although you’d never have guessed that from it’s appearance today. This route brought me out at the Barley Valley Local Nature Reserve from where there are stunning views right across the city of Exeter. I’m distracted by the views and lost my way for a bit before finally regaining my course which was to take me down a section of Bowhay Lane, an old sunken lane once used to drive livestock to market.
At Little John’s Cross, a boundary cross, I pick up bread for my supper at a local co-op store, before I entered Hambeer Lane, the most exposed part of today’s walk. The southerly wind was howling through the trees which meant I had to steady myself to take photos of the view across the valley to the village of Ide. I dropped down Roly Poly Hill to catch my first sight of Alphin Brook which I should see again later on.
The video on the right was shot in Hambeer Lane, but you’ll be doing exceedingly well if you can make out a word I say.
Cottages along Ide LaneMy route through Alphington was down Ide Lane which is dotted with picturesque thatched cob cottages. I crossed the road by the war memorial that stands before Alphington Church and then picked up Clapperbrook Lane, an old route into the city that once crossed Alphin Brooke over an ancient clapper bridge.
Exeter Ship Canal
I crossed the Exeter Ship Canal near Duck’s Marsh and then the River Exe near St James Weir, from where I picked up the course of the mill leat which guided me to the ruins of Countess Wear Mill. The final stretch of my walk being along the well tended lawns of Ludwell Valley Park, which took me along familiar territory, admittedly on tired legs, towards my home.
Addendum: I’ve since walked this route once again – see: 02 September 2017 - Walk: Exeter Green Circle [2] (13.7 Miles)
Walk Statistics:
Total Distance: 13.8 miles
Moving Time: 4hrs 43min
Stopped Time: 44min
Total Ascent: 566 metres
Maximum Elevation: 144 metres
Buses: none
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