THE Queen joked with youngsters celebrating the 150th anniversary of the cadet movement when she visited the Westcountry yesterday.

She was offered the chance to try her hand at rock climbing but declined – saying she was wearing the wrong shoes – at Wyvern Barracks in Exeter.

Her visit, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, marked 150 years of the cadet movement and Army, Sea and Air Cadets performed displays before she unveiled a commemorative plaque.

Corporal Jess Palfrey, who has been a cadet for four years, was taking part in rock climbing demonstrations on a temporary plastic wall. She met the Queen, and said: "I asked her if she wanted to climb the wall and she said 'I don't think I have got the right shoes on for that'.

"She asked if it was fun and said it looked quite difficult. It was amazing to meet her... nerve-racking, I was shaking, but it's such a sense of achievement."

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visit the Westcountry

The Queen, wearing a bright purple dress coat and hat, checked over equipment and watched fencing and club displays as the cadet band played on.

Staff Sergeant Ryan Braunton-Turner, 16, said the Queen asked about the Community Sports Leadership Award.

"She thought it was good that we took control and share leadership. It was quite an experience meeting her, once in a lifetime."

The royal couple also met the parents of cadets and praised their commitment.

One father, Ian Vincent, said: "She said that parents are committed to bringing them here. It's a good start in life, she was saying, and she said there was a whole range of activities that they do and it was very interesting."

His cadet daughter Fay, 16, attended, and Mr Vincent said: "I should imagine Fay was beside herself with excitement. She has been polishing her boots for days to make them shiny enough."

The Queen and Prince Philip arrived in Exeter by royal train and, following tradition, she acknowledged the Exeter City Cap and Sword of Maintenance.

The cap and sword were given to the city in 1497 by Henry VII after its residents beat off the rebel army of Perkin Warbeck, who had besieged Exeter in his bid to win the English throne.

They were symbols of his special favour and the original cap may have been the King's own. The sword is still carried by the senior mace sergeant before the mayor on civic occasions.

The couple's first visit was to St Loyes, a charity offering training and employment services to disabled people, with the Queen unveiling a plaque to mark her visit.

A crowd of excited onlookers gathered outside the charity's headquarters to see the couple arrive and leave by car.

Graeme Honeyman, 33, a trainee in gardening and horticulture, said: "It was a privilege and an honour and I fully enjoyed it. The Queen asked me what I did previously and I said I had been a gardener for the past four years.

"It's the last day of a six-month course, so it's finished off nicely."

The royal couple moved to Dartington Hall, near Totnes. About 300 youngsters and adults lined up behind the barricades on the road through the estate to cheer them.

The Queen was presented with a posy of lilies and roses on the steps by Dartington Hall Trust chief executive Vaughan Lindsay's 10-year-old daughter Isla.

During lunch, she was presented with a sample of work by local potter Marianne De Trey, now in her 90s, and she later unveiled a miniature of Andrew Lacey's bronze statue Megalith Still, which stands outside the main entrance.

The final visit of the day was to Wrigley's in Plymouth for a tour of the factory and to meet staff before unveiling a plaque to mark the chewing gum company's 40th anniversary in the city.

Pupils from Woodlands Park and Estover primary schools waved flags as the royal visitors arrived at the factory.

Simon Evans and other IT staff spoke to the Queen. "She asked about IT, how important it is in the life of people today.

"She did comment that you can't manage your life these days without a computer. She doesn't use one – I did ask her."

Production worker Alan Clarke, who used to work at a Farley's Rusks factory ,said: "She mentioned that her children were brought up on Farley's Rusks as well, the same as everyone else's."