The Best Bookshops in Totnes and the South Hams
Totnes has earned a quiet reputation as one of the best small towns in Britain for independent bookselling. The reasons are partly cultural, with a population that values reading and conversation, and partly practical, with rents that have allowed independent shops to survive where chains have closed. This guide covers the bookshops worth a special visit, in Totnes and across the wider South Hams.
East Gate Bookshop, Totnes
The flagship is East Gate Bookshop, family-run and spread across two floors below the Eastgate arch in the heart of the High Street. The shop has been a regional finalist for the Bookseller’s Independent Bookshop of the Year award and has more than 25 years of bookselling experience behind it. The ground floor leans towards fiction, biography and current titles, with strong sections on the natural world and on local Devon writing. Downstairs is a properly considered children’s room with low seating and a knack for stocking the right book for each age.
Staff recommendations on East Gate’s shelves are reliable in a way that algorithms rarely manage. The shop also runs an online operation through Bookshop.org and hosts author events; check the noticeboard for current dates. Open Monday to Saturday, with reduced Sunday hours in the run-up to Christmas. Bring time; East Gate is the kind of shop where a quick visit becomes an hour and you leave with three books rather than the one you came for.
Rowan Tree Bookshop, Totnes
Further up the High Street, Rowan Tree Bookshop has occupied its premises for over thirty years, until recently trading as Arcturus Books. The new identity reflects the same essential character: a thoughtful selection of titles on the natural world, folklore and mythology, psychology, wellbeing, spirituality, and arts and crafts. The shop also stocks tarot and oracle decks, incense, candles, jigsaws and small gifts.
Rowan Tree is the kind of shop that rewards a slow visit. Browsers regularly find titles they did not know they wanted, and the staff are knowledgeable across the shop’s specialist subjects. Open Monday to Saturday.
Second-Hand and Specialist
Totnes also supports second-hand bookselling. The town’s charity shops, particularly Oxfam Books on the High Street, turn over an unusually high quality of stock thanks to a well-read local population. Expect to find recent literary fiction at half the cover price, hardback non-fiction in good condition and a regular trickle of genuinely interesting older books.
For specialist titles on Devon, Dartmoor and the South West, both East Gate and Rowan Tree carry strong sections. Look for current editions of Dartmoor: A Wild and Wondrous Region and the various Cicerone walking guides if you are planning to explore the moor. Both shops will also order in titles that they do not hold in stock, usually with next-day or two-day delivery; ask at the counter if there is something specific you are after.
Bookshops Worth a Drive in the South Hams
Beyond Totnes, the South Hams holds a small handful of independents worth the effort. The Dartmouth Community Bookshop on Higher Street in Dartmouth is run as a community enterprise by volunteers and has built a strong reputation since opening in 2011. Its location near the harbour and its focus on local interest titles make it a natural stop on a Dartmouth day out.
Harbour Bookshop in Kingsbridge is another excellent independent, with a long history in the South Hams. Originally founded by Christopher Milne, son of A.A. Milne, the shop has been through several incarnations and continues to operate as a thoughtfully stocked general bookshop with a strong children’s section.
Day-Trip Tip
If you fancy a literary loop, you can do Totnes, Dartmouth and Kingsbridge in a single day with the right planning. Allow at least an hour in each of East Gate, the Dartmouth Community Bookshop and Harbour Bookshop, and budget for lunch in Dartmouth and coffee somewhere along the way. The drive from Totnes to Dartmouth takes around 30 minutes, and Dartmouth to Kingsbridge is another 30 minutes via the A381.
Practical Notes
Most independent bookshops in the South Hams open from around 9:30am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday, with Sunday opening in larger tourist seasons. East Gate has a step at the entrance; staff will help with access. Rowan Tree is a smaller space that can feel tight on busy Saturdays. Both Totnes shops are in pedestrianised stretches of the High Street, with the nearest pay-and-display parking at Heath Way (TQ9 5GA).
Bring cash for the smaller second-hand shops, although card payment is now standard across the main independents. If you are planning to ship books home, both East Gate and Harbour Bookshop offer postal services.
Why Bookshops Matter Here
The simple answer is that they are part of why people visit. A bookshop is a slow shop. It encourages you to pause, to read a first paragraph, to fall into conversation with a stranger over a shared favourite author. Totnes does this kind of slow shopping better than almost anywhere, and its bookshops are at the centre of that.