Snark set to enter Exeter waters for weekend festival

Published: 19 September 2023

Exeter’s newest and perhaps most unique eatery is set to ‘sail’ into the city later this week.

The Snark, a 32m sailing barge will enter Exeter waters on Thursday for the latest Heritage Harbour Festival down at the Quay.

The festival runs over two days this coming weekend (Saturday and Sunday 23 and 24 September), with free family fun celebrating Exeter’s maritime history, including live music, canon firing and lots more.

After that, the Snark will hunker down in the Canal Basin for the next six months where it will become a unique and very special winter dining room.

Snark is a traditional seagoing sailing ship providing sailing holidays in the summer and onboard dining in the winter. Last year she sailed around Britain and next year she will sail around the English Channel, the Channel Islands and Isles of Scilly.

Qiao and Paul, the owners and crew, named Snark after the Louise Carroll poem ‘The Hunting of the Snark’; an allegory for the pursuit of happiness.

This winter people can join them on board to share great food, wines and beers, good company on shared tables with seasonal set menus of wholesome home cooking.

Before that, the Snark will come up the Exeter Ship Canal with masts down on Thursday afternoon. On arrival in Exeter, it will have its masts put up again and will berth in the Canal Basin before entering the River Exe on Saturday for the Festival.

The Snark will be joined for the Festival by the relaunched fishing smack Britannia, which arrived in the Basin on Tuesday.    

For more information on the Festival go to the Custom House website. For more information and bookings for the Snark visit their website at www.snark.limited