Exeter Cathedral Christmas Market — Attraction in Exeter

I visited Exeter Christmas Market on Saturday 20/11/2021 and also I cannot believe it is so overpriced here that I am writing a review on Sunday morning, but here it is!

Like others have pointed out, it is squashed together, walkways are too narrow and the prices are ridiculous!

When talking about the prices, the pop up stalls for merchandise are always overpriced at nearly every event nationwide, so I/We just walked past these to be nosy etc, I don't know the merchandise pricing system that well, but it all looked overpriced.

It's when you get to the food stalls that you really get ripped off, I looked at nearly every stalls prices for food and drink (it was just jaw dropping!), can of fizzy drink £1.50-£1.80, chips £4-5 (for tiny portions), £5-6 for the culinary masterpiece of a hot dog etc. And these were the cheapest options! Some snacks were £8-15, snacks, not meals!

We went to the German Hot Dog Stall which at a glance looked like good authentic German sausages etc, so I figure £6 each, with 'an obvious choice of toppings', maybe coleslaw/onions/home made relish etc was an acceptable price, however you get a choice of self served sticky bottled ketchup, mayonnaise or American mustard for your topping and some fried crispy onion shavings which are self served, cold from the counter top, all served on a cheap plain white bun, no bread choice at all and no quality to the bread either, the Bratwurst was average at best, fatty and bland and all for the bargain of £6! Insane pricing for such a basic serving.

I've heard it's the cathedral that arrange this Christmas Market now. Surely at some point the organisers of the event should check the pricing on the food stalls, or maybe the Cathedral does not care about ripping people off in these hard times!

For food for 3 adults and 2 kids, we spent £40 on food and went home hungry. I worked hospitality in Guernsey and Isles of Scilly when younger and I am experienced enough in food pricing to say the food prices at Exeter Christmas Market are at least 25-50% too high, its embarrassing for the food stall owners, the Cathedral ethics department and just plain awkward for us as customers.

Let's also here point out that they have erected a massive indoor bar down here as a giant cash cow no doubt, but failed to provide any toilets and not a single hand sanitiser was to be seen on any food stall, yet some food stalls are just leaving the sauces to be done by the customer (so good luck to all with cross contamination etc and festive cheer to all lol).

Honestly for the prices being charged for an eating area with about 20 seats, no toilets, no hand cleaning options, overpriced simple food charged as if its gourmet, Exeter Christmas Market is and was just plain embarrassing for all involved, we...

The person selling personalised owl ornements on Sunday (20 Nov) provided AWFUL customer service. We left the market afterwards because the experience was so bad.

When I wrote down names on the piece paper to customise the owls, she did NOT give any instruction as what order the names should be. There was NO written instructions anywhere either. So I told her at least twice I’d write mum’s name, dad’s name then child’s name. She made NO OBJECTION to this. When she finally showed me the finished piece, after like 10 min, she wrote dad’s name on the little owl in the middle. I was so confused why would she do that, she said “I can’t remember what everyone told me so it has to go with what’s written on the paper”. While, that should be made very clear BEFORE I wrote the names! We were the ONLY customer there at the time.

I said I couldn’t use this anymore then she said “at least you got all three names on. I can’t do anything about it. It’s not mine, I had to pay for them too.” Probably not the overcharged price she charged me! My toddler really wanted one and I got friends waiting so I ordered another one with only child’s name then mummy and daddy either side. But I had to pay FULL prices for both, even thought one of them completely useless. NO discount was offered.

She’s also insensitive/ignorant to non-western culture. When I handed over the paper, she asked me to spell my name at least three times, including once she wrote down in her own handwriting and claimed she can’t read it anymore, REALLY? Probably just because it wasn’t a standard western name.

It’s super slow as well. Took about 20 min for two, it was NOT written in beautiful calligraphy or anything, just normal handwriting.

Avoid the...

There is a vast selection of gifts to buy: chocolates, chocolate kisses, soap boxes, jams, marmalades and curds, incense sticks, maple syrup, bottle lights... even a dozen or so places to eat. No need for tickets... entrance is free. There is also a tombola contributing to the Exeter Cathedral; try not to pick a number because (I learned this the hard way) those ones lose! A stall for night lights was established in 2023. These lights were made in Northern Europe in the shape of six different animals (one of which is a dinosaur) and they can switch from off to white to multi-colour, with a simple touch of the palm (of your hand). There is also a chocolate booth named Hobb's, which has some unique flavours, e.g. Cactus Lime, Tutti Frutti, and Tonka bean. There are 24 different flavours, 12 milk and 12 dark, but two of them (one on each side) are named Tonka, after the type of bean used to make those chocolates. There are at least six different sizes of boxes, ranging from 6- to 36-chocolate ones. I usually buy a 24-chocolate box and it costs me £40. There is also a booth that sells bottle lights, and they can come in at least 50 different designs. The bottle lights are first checked and tested for lighting, and if they are lit on connection with the tester plug, they are good to buy. Since the time a Native American stand was here, you can buy dream catchers. Another stall sells candles of different scents and sizes, in addition to carved wooden gifts. There is also a hut that sells candle lights; those you put candles in. If you plan to bulk buy at this Christmas market, please make sure you have plenty of money on you. You wouldn't want to be in a state where you can't...