An afternoon stroll through silent, artistic Totnes, Devon

Back in September, I was at the fabulous Historical Novel Society UK Conference in beautiful Devon.

Each day, on our way to the spectacular conference venue, Dartington Hall , the bus taking us from our hotel would pass through picture-perfect Totnes, nestled along the River Dart. I would press my face against thw window and gaze out at this little jewel-box of a town, with its lively shops and restaurants and tourists wandering through.

I only managed to finally visit the town on the last day, when the conference wrapped up, a Sunday afternoon. I quickly discovered the town – fair enough – is almost completely shuttered on a Sunday afternoon. Still, it was fun to actually explore even the virtually deserted town on foot, rather than capturing enticing views of it from inside a bus.

When I’m next in Devon on a weekday or Saturday, I’ll be back.

Totnes has a long history. Its current castle was built on the site where an earlier version was first constructed in 907, part of a defensive plan in the region ordered by King Edward The Elder.

Totnes was already a bustling market town in the twelfth century, helped by an important road network and easy access to the sea from the River Dart. Many of the pretty buildings in town were built in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by wealthy merchants.Totnes, Devon, England/ Kimberly Sullivan

Totnes, Devon, England/ Kimberly SullivanToday, it’s a town of less than 10,000 inhabitants, about 5 miles/8 kilometers from the coast. It has a reputation of being a bit New Agey, with many artists and writers in town.

For a small town, there were certainly plenty of alternative bookstores and shops, all shuttered during my visit.

Sadly, the Norman castle and medieval church, St Mary, were also closed during my visit. Those shall also be for next time.

Regardless, I still enjoyed my wander around pretty Totnes, and enjoyed having the town almost to myself.

Devon is such a picturesque region that I’ll definitely be back to explore more, which means I’ll probably have to “share” Totnes with others on my next visit…