Regional
capital and County Town of Devon, Exeter is a
confident city with a strong business economy
and healthy tourism trade, and a growing population
currently standing at approximately 110,000. Steeped
in 2,000 years of history Exeter is the cultural
heart of the south west, providing a vigorous
focus for Music, the Arts and Literature which
culminates in the annual Exeter Festival.
The area is well serviced for transport, being the first or last link for the M5. Rail links connect to the Waterloo and Paddington lines and Exeter airport is just five miles outside the city.
Exeter has an extensive and well signposted car parking service, providing 5,000 spaces in long and short stay car parks. An additional 1400 spaces are available at the city's three Park and Ride sites.
Exeter's
magnificent cathedral, which boasts the longest
unbroken stretch of Gothic vaulting in the world
dominates the skyline with its twin Norman towers
and is closely surrounded by the city's historic
buildings and streets.
These give way to the largely pedestrianised modern streets of the main shopping centre which are lined with both national names as well as a wealth of individual and stylish independent retailers.
Established residential areas of Exeter such as St Leonards, Heavitree, Pennsylvania and St Thomas offer a great deal of choice of older style housing, although this can be in short supply. Many new sites are being developed in and around the city with a broad range of property being built in developments of under 20 to up to 300 units.
Exeter is surrounded by a number of towns and villages, many of which have developments taking place to satisfy demand for those moving out of the city.
Exeter is well provided with excellent sports and leisure facilities which include an athletics stadium, swimming pools and the best indoor bowling centre in the region. League football, rugby, cricket, speedway and golf are all available in the city and there are more than 20 further golf centres within easy reach. Exeter Racecourse is a short drive to the west and provides race meetings throughout the year.
