A guide to literary Exeter.
This guide results from a Men's Walk round Exeter on 20 March 2021 to raise funds for Hospiscare. It took in an eight mile circuit as was required by the walk, and was designed to cover sites in and around the City which have literary associations, inspired by Exeter's designation as Britain's UNESCO city of literature at the end of 2019. The first sites visited were supplemented the following Monday when a similar distance was covered around the University and along the riverside. It is hoped that the guide can be further developed both to serve as a gazetteer of Exeter's literary heritage and to highlight current literary activity during the period of the UNESCO initiative. The guide has been split into six sections which group the sites within different areas of Exeter:
This guide results from a Men's Walk round Exeter on 20 March 2021 to raise funds for Hospiscare. It took in an eight mile circuit as was required by the walk, and was designed to cover sites in and around the City which have literary associations, inspired by Exeter's designation as Britain's UNESCO city of literature at the end of 2019. The first sites visited were supplemented the following Monday when a similar distance was covered around the University and along the riverside. It is hoped that the guide can be further developed both to serve as a gazetteer of Exeter's literary heritage and to highlight current literary activity during the period of the UNESCO initiative. The guide has been split into six sections which group the sites within different areas of Exeter:
Walk 1. The Cathedral Close and the West Quarter.The area covered by the walks is outlined on the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map of Exeter, dating from 1809. The open landscape depicted on that map shows that the walks suggested outside the walled city are not intended to be followed slavishly. The sites are scattered and sometimes not worth the long trek to hunt them out as there is little of historic interest to be seen. The compiler would welcome any suggestions for additions to the guide, if possible with a precise location for the literary link.
Walk 2. The High Street and around.
Walk 3. East through Heavitree to Sowton and Pinhoe.
Walk 4. North to the University and Saint David.
Walk 5. South through Saint Leonard to Topsham.
Walk 6. West of the river: Saint Thomas, Exwick, Alphington and Ide.
This page last updated 8 September 2021
