Totnes   Hotels/B&B Arts

Totnes is well inland, almost at the end of the navigable part of the Dart estuary. The town nestles in a valley, and up the sides of the surrounding hills. The main street is a steep hill up to the main church and the castle, or what's left of it (not very much). The covered pavement at the top of Fore Street is called the Butterwalk. It is where the houses were built to overhang and protect market traders from the winter weather. From May to September there is a weekly Elizabethan Charity Market by the Civic Hall and many of the townsfolk go about their business in medieval costume. And the town has an excellent cheese shop and a rather nice deli. Dartinghall, which is a short distance away, is famous for its high-quality programs of films, plays, concerts, exhibitions, and its international summer school of music. The South Devon Railway steams thru along the banks of the River Dart on its way to Buckfastliegh A few miles outside Totnes is the castle of Berry Pomeroy, or what's left of it. There is an excellent restaurant/tea-house just outside the castle gate, where they do interesting food. Try the Mediterranean and middle eastern dishes. They are rather good. So are the cream teas. The castle used to be owned by the Seymours back in Henry VIII's time. He married one of them didn't he?

© J Clare 2004