Last week we visited Totnes in Devon, a place that has been significant in our lives for almost 30 years even though this was only the third time we’ve ever visited.
Its part in our lives began somewhere in the late 1990s or early 2000s when I watched a short feature on Totnes on the local morning news while I was away on a conference. Transfixed, I had a Damascene moment; this was the place I had envisaged relocating to, to start a new life. When I got home, I told Jack I knew where it was we should move to, even though we had never been and until that morning, I had never even heard of it.
Over the ensuing three or four years, as we slowly planned a new future for ourselves, we visited Totnes twice; once as part of a mini tour of the southwest when we stayed a couple of nights in the town, and again when we went camping in Fowey and visited for a few hours. I remember that there were one or two bohemian shops selling things like healing crystals, incense and Tarot cards, and that there was a sizeable hippy element to the residents.
Even though we both loved the place with its riverside location, pretty architecture, narrow streets, and laid-back vibe, our plans slowly morphed from Totnes in Devon to Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife.
Totnes Revisited
Fast forward a quarter of a century and we decided to revisit for my birthday last week.
The first surprise was the scarcity of hotels in the town. When I was looking to book somewhere nice to stay, I found quite a limited number of options. We finally settled on The Bull Organic Inn which describes itself as organic, radical and ethical; a place that runs its business by ‘no-bull rules’ and ‘the conscious compromise’.
At over £200 a night for room and breakfast, it clearly also subscribes to the ‘profit is paramount’ principle.
When bohemia becomes affluent
Our hotel room had been renovated and stripped back to its original form. Walls were left with their lime-plaster exposed; furniture was second-hand and somewhat rickety; the fan was old and the swivel function no longer worked; and what passed for toiletries were a bottle of seaweed, organic shampoo and one of conditioner, and a slim slither of handmade soap cut off a block. Whilst I applaud their commitment to ‘zero-to-landfill waste’, I also resent having to source my own shower gel when I’m paying over £200 a night.
Having checked in, we decided to get lunch as we had booked a table for 7:15pm that evening and time was slipping by. All we wanted was a snack. We scoured menus along the main street, struggling to find any that offered a simple sandwich or a toastie. As we perused, I found myself becoming more wound up.
The prices were exorbitant. Anyone would think we were strolling a street in Mayfair, not Totnes in Devon. We finally found a place that did toasties, at a mere £10 each, the cheapest we had seen.
After lunch, we continued our browse of shops and market stalls in the town. Gone were the old hippy shops selling reasonably priced, handmade crafts. In their place were bohemian art shops, ethically made clothing, and antique collections with price tags that had my eyebrows heading to my hairline. It seems the Totnes hippies got older, richer, and more commercially minded.
In danger of ruining my own birthday weekend with my disgruntled attitude, it was time to breathe deeply and find another side to Totnes.
Football & Footpaths
I knew when I booked the hotel that there was no TV in the room (of course there wasn’t) but as we never watch TV while we’re away, it didn’t bother me. That was before the England vs Mexico game was scheduled to kick-off at 1am on the morning of my birthday. I was determined to watch the game so we had brought the tablet with us, just in case we couldn’t find a pub that was staying open.
That first Saturday night, we went for my birthday dinner at a place called Gather, right on the main street. The food was fabulous and the tasting menu was extremely good value, particularly given the as-yet-unrecognised Michelin standard of the dishes. At last, Totnes in Devon was re-establishing itself within my affections.
The next morning, breakfast at the hotel was creative, organic, locally sourced and delicious. Another big tick in the ‘welcome home Totnes’ column. Before we came, Jack had spotted a walk along the river to a cider mill outside Dartington, and we set off early before the heat built.
Following a beautiful, mainly dappled riverside path, we accompanied the River Dart as it meandered through the stunning countryside to a small gallery and cafe, returning by the same path. A gorgeous walk that had us back in Totnes with plenty of time for a cold beer on the waterfront. More positive vibes accumulated.
That evening, after a nice meal at the Waterside Bistro, we headed to the Dartmouth Inn to watch the Brazil vs Norway match. It’s a great pub with friendly locals and comfy seats plus they were showing every game. We decided not to stay for the England game but to watch back in our hotel room instead.
Our last full day, my birthday, we took the steam train from the small station twenty minutes along the riverside woodland trail, to Buckfastleigh. We visited the otter sanctuary and butterfly farm and had an ice cream in a pretty garden café before getting the train back. It was a brilliant day which, despite being exhausted from staying up watching football until 4am, I absolutely loved.
The Yin & Yang of Totnes in Devon
And that’s Totnes, a real yin and yang place where the tables have turned on bohemia. Back at the end of the 1990s, it was the hippy places that offered best value, now they seem to have sold out to commercialism. I applaud their ‘save the planet’ principles and will happily pay a small premium to ensure my own footprint is as small as it can be, but I can’t help thinking that saving the planet has become a highly profitable enterprise.
Yet beneath the ethnically sourced designer labels lurks a friendly, vibrant town with a lively social scene and an enviable location in the heart of the Devon countryside. Perhaps we should think again about moving there…
