The Devon Pullman

This was my birthday present from the Swan Whisperer.  We had to get up at silly o'clock to be at Victoria Station for 08:00, when the train left.  We've done worse!  The train was going to Exeter and back, out via Acton, Slough, Reading, Newbury, Taunton, etc (with a most extraordinary wiggle to get it from the SouthEastern lines to the Great Western ones out of Paddington!), and back via Crewkerne, Salisbury, Basingstoke, etc.  

As it was a Pullman train, the seating was very luxurious,

and even the loos were amazing! 

Brunch was served on the way out, including strawberry wine (I didn't have much of that, it wasn't very nice) a peach bellini (well, two peach bellinis), a couple of pastries (we needed blotting-paper by then), and, over the course of the journey, a plate of fruit with yoghurt, smoked salmon with a poached egg (I think a great many people would have preferred a Full English, but that was not offered),

and a rather peculiar choux bun stuffed with passion fruit.

all washed down with tea or coffee (I had coffee) and the aforementioned bellinis!

We arrived in Exeter at about 12:00, and had approximately 3 1/2 hours in the city before the return journey.  Of course, the train had just missed the half-hourly bus into town, but it came eventually and we got off to walk up the main shopping drag and then down to the river.  We decided not to visit the Cathedral, as we had done so with a professional guide (a friend) on our last visit. 

I wanted to see the mediaeval Exe Bridge and it was well worth seeing - and one could even walk across it, although it no longer spans a river,

Citymapper works here, so we were able to find a bus that took us back to the town centre and was almost due, so we didn't have to wait too long.  We decided to walk up towards the Central Station (not the main station in Exeter - that's St David's) and on the way stumbled across the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, RAMM for short, which is one of the Exeter must-sees, apparently.  And it is free, so we went in and thoroughly enjoyed the very eclectic collection there of artifacts from prehistory to the 20th century, and on the upper floors various stuffed animals, someone's collection of starfish and then a page of artifacts from around the world, including stuff from colonial-era Africa and so on.  Fascinating, but time was getting on, so we walked up to the Central Station to see if it was worth waiting for our train there (it wasn't), or even catching a train to St David's, but we have Freedom passes and a bus was due in a few minutes, so we caught it back to the station and then waited on the platform until our train came in.

This morning, our attendant had asked if it was true that simply nobody had any dietary needs - no vegans, vegetarians, gluten-frees, dairy-frees, etc.  We all agreed this was so - until we read the dinner menu.  The first course was scheduled to be baby beetroot, which I think almost the entire carriage said they didn't eat.  So we were offered heritage tomatoes as a substitute (and very good they were, too), except the people sitting opposite us didn't care for tomatoes, either.  Not sure what they had in the end!  Plus the pudding was scheduled to be rhubarb - no thank you!  I was offered a summer fruit jelly instead, which was very delicious indeed!

We started off with champagne, and our ticket included a bottle of wine, so we had ordered rosé, and I regret to say that despite two glasses of champagne, we managed to polish off the entire bottle between us!  Mind you, it was over about 5 hours, but even still!  There were a couple of nibbles waiting for us when we got back on the train, and they started serving our 5-course dinner about 4:30 or 5:00.  Started with the afore-mentioned heritage tomatoes, then courgette and green pea soup (one of my favourites - the trouble is, we don't usually drink soup in the summer when they are in season, so I seldom make it) followed by wonderful roast lamb and vegetables,

the cheeseboard, and the aforementioned rhubarb

or jelly.

And yes, it was as delicious as it looks! 

We got back into Victoria (after a wiggle after Clapham Junction to get to the SouthEastern lines) at our scheduled time of 20:37 and a quick trip down the Tube and we were home before 21:15 or thereabouts.

Although we did have a very great deal to drink, it's only once in awhile!  And the food, while delicious, was judiciously portion-controlled so we didn't feel bloated and stupid.  In fact, my only complaint was that I was cold - the temperature had dropped about 15 degrees since Friday's high of 32!  And all the windows were open on the train, which was lovely going down but really cold coming back.  Even the Swan Whisperer put on his jacket, and I wished for a cardigan rather than the light jacket that goes with my blue dress.... but London is a bit warmer than the countryside and we soon thawed out.  

All in all, a Grand Day Out!  Thank you, my beloved Swan Whisperer for a lovely day.