Your choice for the winter weekend, 2010 was, by a large margin, Exeter. It has a very long history – coins dating from the Hellenistic period have been found in the city - and its position on a dry ridge overlooking a navigable river made it a prime site for a settlement. It has an interesting history of more that 2000 years. The Romans called it Isca Dumnoniorum and it was the starting point for the Foose Way. The Britons who lived here were driven out by the Saxons, who coveted the defensible town and the surrounding fertile farming land; it was plundered by the Danes and fortified by the Normans who also founded a cathedral in 1050. The city prospered in Medieval times, contributed ships to defeat the Armada and had changing fortunes during the Civil War. Devon grew rich from the wool trade but declined in importance when the Industrial Revolution demanded steam power rather than water power. This saved the city from much ‘modernisation’ and make it a pleasure to explore today. Sadly, raids by the Luftwaffe destroyed or damaged many historic building but we can still look forward to an interesting tour of the city and the traditional cathedral visit.

ITINERARY
Day 1 (Friday): Meet at the Southgate hotel from 14:30 onwards. Welcome drink at 18:00, dinner and a talk by a local historian.
Day 2: A tour of the city including a visit to the Cathedral. After an early lunch we will drive out to Castle Drogo designed by Sir Edwin Luytens. Dinner in our hotel.
Day 3: The military element of this weekend is a visit to Slapton Sands where we will hear the story of Exercise Tiger, the rehearsal for the D-Day invasion, that went so disastrously wrong. Lunch together and return to Exeter by 15:30.