Nowadays, all town centres seem the same. Mix and match an M&S store, a
Next, some estate agents, a few dead-in-the-daytime pubs and a burger bar
around a pedestrianised precinct and you have a snapshot of them all.
But Totnes in Devon is decidedly different. Walk up Fore Street, the steep
hill that is the main shopping street, and you are in a time warp. There
isn't a chainstore logo to be seen, just lines of small shops. Real shops,
too: butchers, bakers, bookshops, and even a toy shop. It could be a scene
from a 1950s Ealing film. Then you look closer. There is Green Fuse, an
eco-friendly funeral parlour; Rhythm and Light, which sells crystals and
fossils; and Fairies on the Rise, which is to do with, er, fairies. The
bustling Friday market demonstrates that dreadlocks are inordinately
popular, velvet is in vogue again, and kaftans are making a comeback. The
penny drops.
Far from being just another prosperous market town, Totnes is a centre of what
style gurus call “boho chic”. The bohemian spirit of Totnes is certainly
proving popular. In recent years there has been an enormous influx of
“blow-ins”, as the locals call incomers. James Waring, of Peter Symonds, a
local estate agent, reckons that 60 per cent of the people coming through
his doors are in search of the hippy good life.
“This is one of the few places in Britain where people really do march to a
different drum,” says James Willis, a dentist who moved here from Bath nine
months ago, paying £300,000 for his quaint two-bedroom cottage built into
the old town wall. “It's too easy to describe it as an alternative culture:
it's more than that. Totnes is vibrant and welcoming, with a wonderful
artistic community. We love it here.”
It is the local schools and colleges that the town can thank for its arty vibe
- particularly nearby Dartington Hall, a pioneering charity that works for
the advancement of the arts, environment and social justice. Dartington
College of Arts was founded by Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst in 1925; the
college, and Dartington Hall Trust, comprise arguably the leading arts and
crafts centre of the South West - although the town has been shocked by the
recent merger of the college with University College Falmouth, which means
that Dartington College will move to the Cornish town in 2010. Other liberal
educational establishments, including the local Steiner School and the Sands
School in nearby Ashburton, where lessons are optional and students and
staff are on first-name terms, also exert an influence.
“Just about all my school friends went on to make careers in the arts,” says
Phillipa Woodgate, 26, a dancer who now lives in London, who attended the
Steiner School and King Edward VI Community College. “This was a fabulous
place to be brought up, and I still return whenever I can. Totnes is a
lovely bubble, something apart from the real world.”
So keen are some in Totnes to preserve the town's independence that they are
circulating the “Totnes pound”, the idea of a group called Transition Town
Totnes. People can spend the 6,000 Totnes pound notes in circulation only in
the 60 local businesses that accept them, ensuring that goods are sourced
locally and fuel usage is kept to a minimum. “It's definitely improving
links between local businesses,” says Noel Longhurst, of Transition Town
Totnes. “Our aim is to reduce the town's dependence on oil and this is a
positive, fun way of doing that.”
Predictably, house prices in Totnes are high. Being on the Reading-to-Plymouth
railway line, with direct trains to London, makes it just within range for
occasional commuters - those who go to London perhaps once a week. Others
are attracted by the town's proximity to the coast. “But it's not solely
focused on tourism like the rest of the area,” explains Waring. “Salcombe
and Paignton are great, but they only come to life in summer.”
Totnes has remained largely unperturbed by the market turmoil that is
affecting other parts of the country, although some sellers have had to curb
their expectations. Agents put this resilience down to the premium that the
town commands. Gordon Maunder, of Marchand Petit in Totnes, says: “Prices
here are as protected as they could be. Demand is strongest in the middle
and upper ends of the market.” He says a two-bed apartment with a water view
costs from £300,000, a four-bedroom period terraced house from about
£400,000, and a four-bedroom detached period property from £625,000.
Totnes is one of the few towns where you pay more to live near the centre:
late-night nastiness is not a problem here. Few new homes have been built in
recent years, but Midas Homes is building 51 handsome houses near the
centre, more than half of which will be affordable.
However, not everyone foresees a rosy future for Totnes. Cradling a glass in
Rumour, a popular wine bar, one middle-aged Totnes local, who would not be
named, claimed: “You are witnessing the last gasps of the old Totnes. When
Dartington College moves to Falmouth it will make a tremendous difference to
the arts in the area. Sky-high house prices will mean the younger generation
won't be able to afford to live here any more, so the town will soon be
filled with blow-ins chasing their eco-dream. Totnes will become a lifestyle
choice rather than a living town with its own organic culture.”
Willis disagrees. “I think the vast majority of newcomers to Totnes contribute
to the town,” he says. “They bring a lot of energy and new ideas. They may
come here late in life, but they don't come here to stagnate.”
Fact File
The average house price in Totnes is £333,220, compared with £229,772 for
England and Wales as a whole (Land Registry).
The average house price in Salcombe, Devon, is £521,035.
The average detached house in Totnes costs £429,423 (£352,688 in England
and Wales).
The average semi in Totnes is £248,470 (£204,306 in England and Wales).
Prices in Totnes have risen by 62 per cent over the past five years.
I am a 'blow in' and came to live in Totnes 6 years ago, from Berkshire and would never want to leave. It's a beautiful town where individuals can be themselves... you don't have to worry what you wear, no one will judge you for that. I feel that Totnes is a part of me, and I am a part of Totnes.
It's an eccentric town, with mostly wonderful people, beautiful scenery and most of all, a conscience. I truly believe that when Dartington College moves in 2010, something else will fill the gap it leaves and the essence of Totnes will not change too much.
Thank you for 6 fabulous years so far, Totnes!
Julie Cartwright, Totnes, Devon,
Greenfuse as mentioned in your article offers more than "eco-funerals", supporting and empowering the individual and family to make difficult choices. Whether this includes how to spend less on transport and more on the flowers or working through, via mediation with the family, differing ideas about an unsual funeral ceremony. Jane and Simon have the strength, depth of compassion and humour to bring together whatever is needed with effectiveness and high degree of style. They offer a wealth of expertise and contacts to help through the entire process of dying and bereavement to planning the funeral and creating sumptuous flower displays. Psychological astuteness and breadth of practical knowledge, combined with a huge generousity in how they share that knowledge during the funeral advisor courses they run, reflect a deeply personal calling to serve families at this difficult time as well as changing culture in honouring this rite of passage.
Course Participant and Thanatologist
abigail robinson, ashburton, devon, UK
Not just Eco-friendly funerals....Totnes is a town where vision can be grounded in reality. At Greenfuse, the dying process is infused by the psychological astuteness and breadth of practical knowledge of Simon and Jane combined with a huge generousity in how they share that knowledge during the funeral advisor courses they run, which reflect a deeply personal calling to serve families at this difficult time. Their vision is to create a paradigmn shift in culture that will make it easier for all of us to think about dying what needs to be arranged when we die. Dying is the crowning rite of passage that deserves this honouring and support.
Course Participant and Music-Thanatologist
abigail robinson, ashburton, devon, UK
As a student at Dartington College of Arts, it is clear that many of the locals are influenced by the hippy-style of the students. But this isn't a good thing. Some are trying to keep up to date by emulating student fashion, but the students look terrible; with their velvet, dreadlocks and mellow ways. The place is beautiful, I'll give you that, but the fact that it is "boho chic" is terrible. Step away from the hippy stereotype. There is more than a whiff of the pretentious around the area because people are being different just for the sake of being different.
R Woodward, Dartington, UK
...and when Seale Hayne moved from Newton Abbot
Green, totnes,
My memories of Totnes is the lovely and unusual feel of the town. It is a spiritual town, full of lovely friendly people.. If you need a to be healed or just want to buy a painting, this is the place to be, you can even see fudge being made in this lovely shop on the hill..
A place where you can be yourself, where you can wear unusual clothes, or even wear a funny hat, and no one will batter a eyelid..
A place to visit or live, but PLEASE do not change it..
Valerie, Wokingham, Berkshire
I worked in the chemist in Totnes last summer and I agree, the town is beautiful. Stunning vegetarian cafe at the top of the hill and great quaint shops. However, you do need a few pennies to your name to live here.
Nim, lincoln, uk
Regretably I have to agree with 'anonymous of Totnes' , things will change when the Arts College moves to Falmouth. There was foretaste when Rolle College was moved from Exmouth.
j yates, torquay, devon