Synopsis: Helen and I felt like some exercise, so we set off on this circular tour around Exeter. We sat on a bench at Redhills from where there are panoramic views out over the city to eat our lunch.
This is a favourite cycle ride of mine. As I don’t have motorised transport at the moment, it’s good to have rides like this that can be done from my home. I put my Garmin GPS on the bike that Helen was riding, so that she might familiarise herself with how route navigation is done using this device.
Panoramic view across Exeter from Redhills
We passed by the Twisted Oak, or, as otherwise known, The Twisty Tree of Ide. The public house nearby takes its name from this tree. The photograph of Helen, above, top-left, shows her standing by the Twisted Oak. The story of this tree is told in the book Folk Tales of Devon, by V. Day. The tale of how the sprite of Ide was captured and trapped in this tree can be found in the description of this photograph of the tree and Helen.
The highlight of this ride in many respects is the panoramic view across Exeter that’s to be had from Redhills. There’s a bench at this place that I usually try to make my lunch stop, and that’s what we did today. This is also the highest point on the ride, so although it’s quite a slog to get to the top, one can at least rest here in the knowledge that the hardest work has now been done.
One of the great attractions of this ride is that most of the ride is either off-road or along quiet roads and lanes, and very little traffic is encountered at any point on the route. The only things that’s rather irksome is the need to lift bikes over a couple of stiles on Redhills, but this can be relatively easily achieved.
Cycle Statistics:
Total Distance: 14.4 miles
Elapsed Time: 3hrs 56min
Total Ascent: 363 metres
Maximum Elevation: 101 metres
Buses: (none)
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