Exeter’s Red Coat tour guides turn green to celebrate the city centre
Published: 1 March 2023
Exeter’s Red Coat Guides will go green for a special tour exploring the city centre this spring in partnership with InExeter.
The green coat tour has been was developed to take people to some of the less usual and more commercially interesting areas of the city.
Like many historic cities, Exeter presents a mosaic of different areas and localities that have developed their own distinctive character.
The tour explores how areas of the city have changed and adapted over the years as well as highlighting the types of businesses that are in Exeter today.
The high street is ever changing, and this insightful tour looks at the history that has shaped the city centre we have today as well as showcasing the business areas that have been established in the city helping Exeter to prosper.
Ann Hunter, InExeter BID Manager, said: “At InExeter we champion and support businesses in the city. There are so many amazing businesses in the city and The Red Coat Tours are a wonderful way for people to explore the city.
“This was the perfect opportunity for InExeter to work with the Red Coat Tours to establish a tour that celebrates Exeter, the city we have today, and introduce people to the many businesses that are our point of difference.”
Those taking part in the tour will learn about the city’s origins, dating back to AD 55, and learn of its Roman settlement which still forms the heart of the city. They will be guided through the streets and learn of Exeter’s early prosperity and how events in history have shaped the city we have today.
The tour will explain how a Bishop managed to make the King bow to him, the history of Exeter’s Streets and the things that have become renowned in the city, from the famously narrow Parliament Street, Mary the Pigeon to the House that Moved.
The tour was named Green Coat as it concentrates on the sustainability of the city, how the city has been cultivated over time and how independent businesses are key to its future success.
The tour reveals the secrets of Exeter, informs Exeter’s past, what it was like and how it has shaped the city we live in today.
On the route there are significant landmarks in the city including the previously well-known department store turned Hotel Indigo and independent districts including the Castle Quarter and West Quarter where the past histories of the streets will be revealed.
The tour also visits Fore Street in the West Quarter, where the history of McCoy’s Arcade is told. Today it is home of the renowned vintage store The Real McCoy.
Free to attend, there are two tours scheduled to take place, one on Thursday 23 March at 10am and the next on Wednesday 19 April at 2.30pm. The tours last an hour-and-a-half, meeting at the War Memorial on Cathedral Green and finishing at Exeter’s Historic Quayside.
To join the tour, register via the Eventbrite link: https://GreenCoatTours.eventbrite.co.uk
The Red Coat Team are volunteers who are passionate about the city's fascinating history , and are overseen by Exeter City Council.