Crossing Totnes Bridge brings you the first glimpse of the many architectural delights of one of the finest small towns in England. The broad street called The Plains opens to the left, bounded on one side by carefully converted warehouses and on the other by elegantly restored Georgian buildings.
The openness of The Plains is in sharp contrast to narrow Fore Street, which rises steeply through the heart of the town. The small shops lining the street are discreetly built into the frontages of the old buildings. A timbered top storey overhangs the bottom one, and it is always worthwhile looking up at the top storeys to see intriguing architectural delights.
The arch of the East Gate, the town's best-known landmark, straddles the street near the top of the rise. This medieval gateway was almost lost in 1990 when fire, traditionally a scourge in Totnes's close-packed streets, caused serious damage. The gateway has now been fully restored at vast expense.
Just off Fore Street, beyond the East Gate, is the Church of St Mary. Its unusually red sandstone is almost incandescent on a bright day. The stone rood screen inside is one of the finest in Britain.
Beside the church stands Totnes Guildhall, on the site of the refectory of an 11th-century Benedictine priory dedicated to St Mary. The town's mayors have been chosen here for over 400 years.
As you head away from the centre, the narrow street closes in further. A bypass marks the boundary of the built-up area; crossing it marks a sudden break. Only a few strides into Harper's Hill, the hubbub fades into silence. The tarmac lane gives way to a broken stony track which rises relentlessly for half a mile over Windmill Down. Until the mid-18th century, this lonely green lane was the Plymouth road.
From the top of the hill, Dartmoor fills the horizon to the distance north and west. Here and there, where the arable land has been freshly broken, patches of rich red earth show through against the green.
The return to town is along another old lane. Copland Lane is often wet and overgrown; clumps of great plantain cover the ground around pools of standing water.
Totnes Castle lies towards the end of the walk's circuit. The 15-foot (4.5-metre) thick walls of its circular keep are remarkably intact, largely because no serious battles took place here. As a viewpoint over the town and surrounding area, though, the castle is as dominant as it ever was. It is managed by English Heritage and open to the public, and there is no better place from which to survey Totnes before returning to the start of the walk.
