Bit of a mess at the moment (Shopping Areas in Exeter)

Member Name: kingseany

Product:	Shopping Areas in Exeter
Date:	19/09/05 (1993 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some good shops

Disadvantages: Lots of demoltion reducing the number of shops

Exeter is a city in the heart of Devon. I go there quite often, although not as often as I used to.

The city is at present in the middle of some huge re-developments - the Princesshay and Paris street are has been completely flattened - which isn't exactly a bad thing as the drab 50's architecture didn't really add much to the city. The new plans are available for all to see, although it's not going to be for a few years before it's all complete. A lot of the shops that were in this area are gone for ever, the owners with no-where else to go, which is a shame for them. Going out of business is the only option, as they can't afford to not trade for several years, nor will they be able to afford the inflated rents the developers will be asking.

There are of course other areas for shopping in the city.

High Street. Mostly bland shoe and clothes shops, as well as the main banks, and some large stores such as Dingles. The re-development is going to make changes to High Street, hopefully it'll improve the area as a whole. No cars are allowed down here, just millions of buses. Theres a Tesco Metro here, not cheap.

Sidwell Street. Lots of cheap shops, such as pound land, the pound shop, some charity and pawn shops, supermarkets and some smaller specialist shops. It's all a bit run down, but there are some nice pubs. The odeon cinema is further up the street. Debenhams dwarfs the other buildings in the area, but will be knocked down too soon.

Harlequins. If you've got money to burn, this is where you should head for. Designer clothes, top quality furniture and jewels are all here - but it's not for the casual shopper. It was built in the 80's when yuppy culture called for expensive tastes. Every time I ever walked through here most of the shop units were vacant - a sign of high rents in a town which isn't suited to this kind of shop, not yet anyway. The coffee shop is never crowded.

Guildhall. You could describe this as the main shopping centre, built in the Jubilee year of 1977. It's starting to show it's age with a somewhat tired selection of shops. Sainsbury's is here (one of many in Exeter), along with your usual clothing and shoe stores, Woolworths, Superdrug, Argos, WH Smiths and so on. There are a few smaller shops for bits and bobs, cheap tat mainly. On the edge of the centre is a pasty shop - Oggy Oggy - well worth it, but on the expensive side. There are a variety of other coffee shops and cafes although none that I'd say were anything to write about - so I won't. There is an upstairs to the centre, although there are very few shops. Although it's a bit bland, there is a nice atmosphere in the Christmas period.

Gandy Street. Aimed at tourists, it's a cobbled street off High Street which has a selection of pubs, wine bars, and specialist shops. The weird crowd fit in well here, and you'll never know what you'll find. There's a good second hand CD shop here though.

South Street. A mix of shops, missed by lots of visitors. These are mostly independant shops rather than chainstores. You'll find a good hairdresser here, and the White Hart pub which is very olde worlde.

Fore Street. Second hand street - loads of second hand type shops, as well as some trendy arcades selling retro gear, surfer stuff, skateboards and the like. Piercing, hairdressers and crystal shops are also popular here. Exeter's sex shop is towards the bottom if you like that kind of thing. Theres a fair few pubs in this street too, some a bit on the trendy side. It's a steep hill, so shop form top to bottom, then head to the quayside for a pint.

Out of the centre, St. Thomas is worth a look. As well as some larger stores such as Sports and clothing, there are loads of small shops, and more charity shops too. Plenty of pubs, but the roadhouse is for bikers, so best avoid that one.

On the whole, Exeter does have a fair few shops to look around. Nothing huge, nothing flashy, at least not yet. We'll see, a few years down the road it'l be a very different city.

Summary: Nothing special