Blue Boy and Red Coat

Took the delightful Tarka Line train to Exeter today. It is such a pretty train ride and we saw deer, rabbits, pheasants as well as the usual cattle and sheep in the fields.
In Exeter we joined one of the free walking tours on Old and New Exeter.
Going back to the city’s Roman origins, the guide (Red Coat) walked us through 2,000 years of history, from the ancient City Wall to the modern Princesshay development, before taking the gentle climb up to the Northernhay Gardens, and finishing at the Guildhall where we were allowed inside.  We saw a couple of delightful old churches, some modern replacement buildings after the bombing of WWII, the beautiful old city walls made over centuries with Roman, Norman, Saxon and newer additions. We were shown the old volcano at Rougemont where a lot of the wall's blocks were hewn out.  A fun hour and a half wander and chat about a small part of Exeter's history.  
The inscription on the Blue Boy statue reads:
THIS STATUE OF A BLUE BOY STOOD IN THE COURTYARD OF SAINT JOHN'S HOSPITAL SCHOOL FOUNDED ON THIS SITE AS A BLUECOAT SCHOOL
BY THE CHAMBER OF EXETER, A.D. 1636 IN THE DISSOLVED MEDIAEVAL HOSPITAL OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST.  THE SCHOOL CONTINUED UNTIL 1931 IN THE NEW BUILDINGS ERECTED IN 1859 WHICH WERE DESTROYED BY ENEMY ACTION ON MAY 4TH 1942.



We enjoyed lunch at the Cathedral before heading home.  The weather held thankfully.  
Late afternoon and supper with another friend so all in all a very social day!