Buckfastleigh

Buckfastleigh grew as a mill town, its woollen mills, corn and paper mills and a tannery powered by the rivers Dart, Mardle and Dean Burn that meet here. The town is medieval in origin, and although most buildings were rebuilt by the seventeenth century, the medieval layout of Fore Street is still visible today. The name combines “Buckfast”, a stronghold traditionally used to hold deer, with “leigh”, the pasture that belonged to it.

A mile outside town stands Buckfast Abbey, a Benedictine monastery that traces back to a foundation of 1018 under King Canute. A later Cistercian abbey built on the site in 1134 was largely demolished after the 1539 dissolution of the monasteries, and the ruins stood until French Benedictine monks bought the site in 1882 and rebuilt it themselves; the abbey church was consecrated in 1932.

Buckfastleigh station is also the headquarters of the South Devon Railway, a 6.64-mile heritage line running steam trains alongside the River Dart to Totnes, operated by the South Devon Railway Trust charity. Ashburton sits a short drive north with its own stannary-town centre, worth comparing if you want more pubs and cafes within walking distance of your cottage. Confirm parking with the owner before booking: the older streets near the town centre can mean narrow frontages and no off-street space.