Social event and conference dinner

There will be a social event on the afternoon of Thursday, 9th September, including a local food and drink tasting session at the conference venue in Peter Chalk and a walking tour of Exeter. At the tasting, there will be an opportunity to sample local cheeses, ales, ciders and preserves. The tours will be led by the local Red Coat tour guides, and participants will be able to chose between tours with different themes, such as "Medieval treasures of Exeter", "Exeter's canal and boat trip", or "Ghosts and legends". The social event will be followed by a conference dinner, which will take place at the Abode Restaurant on the Cathedral Square.

Food and drink options in Exeter

Exeter, and Devon in general, are famous for their many good pubs and restaurants. Locals are the best source of advice, but favourites very near campus include the Imperial Pub on New North Road (big, lovely garden), the Rusty Bike Pub on Howell Road (small and cosy), and Harry's Restaurant on Longbrook Street (booking recommended). In the centre of town, the cathedral square has a number of restaurants (Italian, British, Moroccan, Thai) as well as the Well House Tavern (don't miss the skeleton in the basement!). There are also a number of options on the quayside, most enjoyable in good weather. A little more out of the way but well worth a detour are the Hour Glass Pub on Melbourne Street and the Fat Pig Pub on John Street.

Leisure

If you have a moment free or you can spend a day or two in the area before or after the conference, there are plenty of things to do:

Go cycling or canoeing along the Estuary

You can hire a bicycle or a canoe from "Saddles and Paddles" on the Quayside. There are a couple of pubs along the Estuary (the Double Locks and Turf Lock) which make nice stop-off points. You can also catch a boat ride on the Estuary from Turf Lock, Topsham or Exmouth (the latter two are a short train ride from Exeter Central station).

Go to the beach

The sea is at its warmest at this time of year. Both Exmouth and Dalwish, either side of the Estuary, are a short train ride from Exeter. If you have access to a car, there are beautiful beaches around Lyme Regis (Jurrassic Coast World heritage site), secluded coves in fractal estuaries South Devon (in particular Salcombe and Dartmouth), or wild, ocean facing beaches in North Devon.

Go hiking in Dartmoor

You can get a bus from Exeter to Moretonhampstead or Bovey Tracey, and members of the LOC will be more than happy to advise on where to go and what to do. There are also many nice pubs to restore yourselves in after a nice walk.

Old stones

Visit one of the many castles, abbeys and other buildings of interest in the area, such as Powderham Castle, Bickley Castle or Buckfastleigh Abbey.

Do the Tarka line Pub Crawl

Discover the rolling mid-Devon countryside at the leisurely pace of this old single-track railway, sampling pubs along the way and ending at the North Devon coast.

Advice

If you're looking for information on something specific, don't hesitate to contact the LOC (exoclimes@astro.ex.ac.uk): we can probably help. For example, there are keen climbers and surfers in the Astrophysics Group who'd be more than happy to take a few participants out at the week end, weather permitting.