Our weekend in Exeter, and win a weekend away!

Hey you! Yes you, there, in your pajamas, drinking a cup of tea. Do you want to be in with a chance to win an amazing weekend getaway with Premier Inn, as part of their Great British Stories campaign? Of course you do! In that case, read on for a little inspiration on the sort of things you might get up to, and more on how you can win.

I’ll let you in to a little secret, the Rafflecopter’s at the bottom of this page.  I know you probably want to do the scroll-y wheel downwards right now, but before you do that, I’d love to tell you about my own amazing weekend away to give you a little inspiration.  We packed our bags and headed off to Exeter last weekend, as Exeter is one of the lovely cities in the Great British Stories campaign.  Premier Inn are encouraging us to get out into the Great British Countryside and create some adventures – and some stories, of our own. Which is certainly what Tom and I did last weekend, as we really packed a lot in to exploring the beautiful city of Exeter.

I had canvassed opinions on the best places to see, things to do, and food to eat in Exeter on Twitter the day before, so I was armed with a list of addresses when we arrived on Friday evening.  The hotel room was absolutely lovely, with a big comfy bed, sofa and swish bathroom.  The Premier Inn we stayed at (Fitzroy Road/M5 J29) is just outside of Exeter and has been been quite recently so everything felt very new and clean.

Premier Inn

We were near the Park and Ride car park, so we got the bus into the city in search of some dinner.  We decided on Hub Box, which sells ‘burgers, dogs and beers’ – basically right up our street! We had a little wait for a table but from the menu I anticipated that it was going to be worth it.

Hub Box Exeter

Hub Box Exeter

And it was! I had a beef brisket burger, chips, and Tom and I shared ‘burnt beans’ and apple slaw.  It was absolutely divine, one of the best meals I’ve had in a long, long time.  I definitely let out a lot of appreciative little groans – melt in your mouth meat, oozing cheese, and the chips were to die for.

Hub Box Exeter
Hub Box Exeter

We went for a drink and a little explore and then retired to our hotel room to rest up for our busy Saturday.

On Saturday morning we went for a little run to take in some more sights (and try and burn off the burgers from the night before!) Then we set off for Haldon Forest, which was about 15 minutes away.  The sun had certainly put his hat on and we were met with beautiful blue skies and an absolutely stunning forest, perfect for exploring on foot or by bike (or on Segways, as lots of them zoomed past us whilst we were there!) We rented some bikes and set off on one of their trails.  I rather stupidly left my camera at the hotel, so I hope these phone pictures can capture just what a wonderful afternoon it was.

Haldon Forest
Haldon Forest
Haldon Forest Bike Hire

We zoomed down downhill tracks, rode through puddles, up hills, and got quite muddy! It was so much fun. With some rather achy legs and sore bums we nipped back to the hotel to climb out of our muddy clothes, and headed back into Exeter for an early dinner.  And a well earned glass of wine! We went to Wagamama’s at Princesshay and it was delicious.

Rosie Wagamamas

We did a little more exploring after dinner and then headed down to the Quay for another drink and to watch the sun set.  There were so many people down there strolling along the quay, enjoying an al fresco drink or some rather delicious looking pizzas.  I love it when it’s been a warm Spring/Summer day and everyone spends the last few hours of it outside, enjoying that lovely dusk light.

Exeter Quay

Exeter Quay

We had reserved Sunday for shopping and more exploring of the town itself, though I was really disappointed to find a lot of the smaller, vintage-y shops closed, in particular I was really looking forward to visiting some shops on Fore Street but they were all shut.

We went for a walk around the Cathedral grounds, which were stunning…

Exeter Cathedral
Outside Exeter Cathedral
John Donne quote

And of course the High Street, popping into a few shops and enjoying the sun on our backs…

Exeter

We couldn’t resist being tourists and taking our pictures at Parliament Street, which claims to be the world’s narrowest street!

Parliament Street

… and did some posing near the City Wall…

Exeter 

… we had heard that Gandy Street was a must-visit and we had a bit of a nose in the lovely shops along there…

Gandy Street

… and we couldn’t resist popping into Bill’s for a spot of lunch…
 

Bill's Restaurant, Exeter

After some more exploring it was sadly time to head home, and to wave Exeter goodbye.  We had the most perfect weekend and I really think we managed to tick off some of the perfect elements of a Great British weekend away – some lovely eateries, a lot of fresh air and sunshine, and really exploring everything a city has to offer.

But how do you win your own weekend away, I hear you say? WELL – the Rafflecopter is all set up and ready for your clicks below!  You have two weeks to get entering – good luck!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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{ as part of hosting this giveaway, we were provided with a weekend away
by premier inn, all views are my own }