Short answer: The Quay is the best part of Exeter and the flattest. The hand-pulled ferry across the Exe costs 40p, Riverside Valley Park runs straight on along the water, and the Prospect Inn sits right on the quayside. It is also where the canal towpath out to the Turf begins.
Exeter's centre is a city centre — shops, traffic and a hill. The Quay is where it stops being one. It is flat, it is on the water, the buildings are old warehouses rather than chain fronts, and almost nothing down there costs money unless you decide it should.
A hand-pulled ferry crosses the Exe here, hauled over on a cable by a person, for 40p. It takes about a minute. It is the cheapest thing in this guide and the one small children remember. It runs seasonally and in daylight hours, so check before you plan around it.
Straight on along the water from the quayside: open fields where dogs can run, kingfishers on the river, and a flat surface the whole way. You can walk or cycle it.
The Exeter Ship Canal path starts here and runs south, level for miles. It leads to the Double Locks and eventually the Turf, a pub with no road to it at all — you arrive on foot, by bike or by boat or you do not arrive.
Kayak and SUP hire operate from the Quay, which is the other way to use the river. It is sheltered water here rather than open sea, which makes it a reasonable place to try it for the first time.
The Quay car parks put you directly on the flat section and save the walk down the hill from the centre. Park and ride is cheaper but drops you at the top, which means the climb back up at the end of the day.
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