As George’s birthday was on Monday we let him choose the destination for today’s ride, and that turned out to be the Exeter Ship Canal, or more precisely the Pizza Hut at the end of it. We took two cars to Starcross and then rode past the Powderham estate, where they were clearing up after Thursday’s Bryan Adams concert. The new cycle bridge over the railway brought us quickly down to the very smooth cycle path, which was perfect in every way other than offering a view of the Exe estuary that we had come to see. Several unfriendly signs instructed us not to cycle on top of the bank, which is of course where the view was, and as there were several people walking up there we dutifully followed the instructions.

From the Turf Lock hotel the cycle path again continued out of sight of the canal, but this time there were no unfriendly signs and few pedestrians, so we rode part of the canal path. We were rewarded by the sight of a swan and cygnets who seemed unperturbed by our presence.

Exeter quayside was bustling with people as usual, but out path was diverted as a result of some works on the path near Exe Bridges. It wasn’t far to Pizza Hut, however, and as it was quiet in there today we were soon tucking in to some very tasty pizzas.

After a ride around the park and back along the Exe past the weir we stopped at Exeter Quay to watch the Butts Ferry carrying people across the river for 40p a time. The journey was so short that the ferry didn’t have a motor – the ferryman pulled the boat across by holding on to a cable that was stretched across the river. Quite why anybody would want to pay for the ferry when they could walk a few hundred metres and cross the footbridge we couldn’t understand, but counting the crossings while we were there he seemed to be making a fat profit.

Next stop was the Welcome café, now under new ownership but still serving the same good range of cakes and drinks. As it was rather hot we sat in the outdoor seating at the back and were impressed by the size of the three small cakes deal for just £2.

The ride back along the canal to Starcross was a little more interesting for Michael who was able to ride on a section of the “high bank” as there were no pedestrians around. We got back to the car by around 4pm at the end of a very enjoyable day, finally getting home for around 4.45.