Independent Shops to Visit on Totnes High Street
Walk the length of Totnes High Street and you will count fewer chain shops than you can on the fingers of one hand. The town has resisted homogenisation more successfully than almost any other market town in Devon, and the result is a shopping experience that rewards slow browsing. This guide picks out the independent traders worth your time, with practical notes on what they sell, when they open, and how to find them.
Starting at the Top: The Narrows
The upper end of Totnes High Street is known locally as The Narrows, where the road tightens and the buildings lean over the pavement. This stretch packs in some of the town’s most interesting independents. Drift Record Shop is a national name in independent music retail, stocking new vinyl, CDs, cassettes and reissues across genres from folk to electronica. Drift has been nominated multiple times for industry awards and runs an active in-store events programme. Open Monday to Saturday, with a thoughtful staff who will happily point you to a new release worth your money.
A few doors down, The Forest & Co. at 84 High Street sells colourful glassware, ceramics, candles and the kind of homeware that is easier to admire than to leave behind. The shop opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10:30am to 5pm. Nearby, Small Folk stocks children’s clothing, shoes and books with a focus on sustainability and natural fibres.
Mid-Street: Galleries, Books and Gifts
The middle stretch of the High Street, between the Eastgate arch and the Rotherfold, holds the highest density of shops. East Gate Bookshop spreads across two floors below the arch and is one of the most respected independent bookshops in the South West. Its children’s room downstairs is a particular pleasure, and the shop has been a regional finalist for the Bookseller’s Independent Bookshop of the Year award. Staff recommendations are genuinely useful.
Eastgate Gallery, located at the foot of the Eastgate arch, shows contemporary British art and craft with a clear focus on South West makers. Expect ceramics, textiles, paintings, printmaking and jewellery rotating through the space. Across the road, Me and East at 55a High Street occupies a historic slate-fronted house and curates handmade gifts with maker stories attached to each piece.
Below the Clock Tower
Passing under the Eastgate clock tower brings you to Dodo by Dodo, an art gallery and gift house with bronze artwork, hand-carved ceramics and contemporary sculpture. The location alone is reason to step inside, with the medieval arch framing the doorway.
Lower High Street and Fore Street
The High Street becomes Fore Street as you continue downhill, and the shops shift towards food, jewellery and lifestyle. H.E. Phillips Jewellers at 19 Fore Street is a specialist independent dealing in new and second-hand gold, silver and watches, with a reputation for fair valuations. Doble Jewellers, further down, has been run by four generations of the Doble family across more than a century of trading in Totnes.
For zero-waste shopping, Earth.Food.Love opened in 2017 as the UK’s first dedicated zero-waste shop and continues to draw visitors who want to see how plastic-free retail actually works. Bring your own containers and browse over 220 dry food lines, refill cleaning products and natural toiletries.
Practical Notes for Visitors
Most independent shops in Totnes open from around 9:30am or 10am and close by 5pm or 5:30pm, with reduced hours on Sundays and many closures on Mondays. The High Street is steep, with cobbles in places and narrow pavements through The Narrows. Wheelchair users will find some shops have small thresholds or step entries; East Gate Bookshop has a step at the door but staff are responsive to requests.
The closest pay-and-display car parks are at Heath Way (TQ9 5GA) at the top of town and the Lamb (TQ9 5UH) and Longmarsh (TQ9 5LJ) lower down. Totnes train station sits a short walk from the foot of Fore Street, with direct services from Exeter and Plymouth. Allow at least half a day if you want to give the High Street the attention it deserves, longer if you plan to stop for coffee or a long lunch along the way.
When to Visit
Friday and Saturday are market days, when the Civic Square fills with traders and the High Street is at its busiest. Tuesday mornings between May and September host the Elizabethan Charity Market, where stallholders wear Tudor dress. Late November and early December bring the Totnes Christmas Market and Late Night Shopping, when most independents stay open into the evening. For a quieter browse, midweek mornings out of the school holidays are ideal.
Whatever the day, the High Street rewards an unhurried pace. Many of the best finds in Totnes are not in the window but on a back shelf or in a cabinet you only notice on the second pass through a shop. Conversation with the owners is part of the pleasure; staff are generally happy to talk about stock, makers and the wider town. Treat the visit as a slow walk rather than a checklist, and you will leave with a better sense of why Totnes has earned its reputation as one of the best independent High Streets in the South West.