We finally left Cornwall and headed to Exeter, one of England's oldest walled cities (it was formerly occupied by the Romans).

I loved it.

I've been in enough cities to generally be able to gauge whether or not I like a city within the first couple of seconds. Exeter was one of these cities. 

The River Exe flows through the middle; it's quieter than many cities but still definitely a city. It's fairly walkable, big enough that I don't feel trapped, small enough that it wasn't an adjustment shock coming from the rural countryside.

Even after a 7 mile hike to nowhere, I still liked it.

And let me tell you, it was 7 miles along the endless river, walls of grass on either side, to see a castle that was ultimately closed. At least we learned to baa like sheep.

One of my friends also found a wine/coffee bar that had live music; we didn't meet people our age like we were hoping to, but we did get delicious cocktails and enjoyed the atmosphere regardless. It was nice to be out in the city for once.

But Exeter was only a short pitstop before the final destination... London.