Countess Wear Evening Cruise

Countess Wear has a long and chequered history, legend has it that in the 13th Century, the Countess of Devon had rather a big falling out with the port of Exeter. According to the tale, she built the weir to prevent bigger boats from reaching the city and it is said that whilst she did leave a small gap in the centre for smaller boats to pass through, this was blocked a few years later by her cousins. This blockage prevented any ships from reaching Exeter, and forced merchants to land at Topsham, where the town flourished! In 1540, an act was passed to remove the weirs, but it was found to be impossible to restore the navigation and soon after work started to the build the Exeter Canal that enabled ships to reach the city centre once again.