Buckfastleigh, Devon

Flower Delivery to Buckfastleigh, Devon with Clare Florist

Buckfastleigh is a thriving market town in the Devon County, England. At first glance, you may perceive the town as vibrant and lively with all the restaurants and shops along its busy streets, but dig deep into its history and you’ll discover the stories that give the place a touch of enchanting mystery. Buckfastleigh remains one of Devon’s most diverse towns. It is truly a beautiful mix of ancient influence and modern attractions.

History

Buckfastleigh started out as a mill town that grew popular for its paper mills, woollen mills and corn. It also has a tannery that is supported by the town’s main rivers: Mardle, Dean Burn and Dart. It is medieval in origin, as evidenced by how the entire town has been laid out. Although most properties have been restructured in the 17th century, the medieval layout of the town, predominantly in Fore Street, remains visible to today.

Landmarks and Attractions

The Brook Manor House

On the western side of the town lies the Brook Manor house. It was built in 1656 and was owned by Richard Cabell, Lord of the Manor of Brook.

Popular among the townspeople, Richard Cabell instantly became a local legend after his death. According to the stories, on the night he died, black hounds that breathed fire raced over to surround his house and howled through the night. His strange tomb was also allegedly designed to appear as it is to prevent his restless soul from roving around Dartmoor.

Today, the Brook Manor House has been listed as a Grade II property.

Buckfast Abbey

Buckfast Abbey is part of the Benedictine monastery at Buckfast. It is comprised of a conference and seminar centre, a restaurant, and two gardens where Buckfast flowers, plants and herbs are abundant. Beyond the public area is another garden exclusively made for the monks. There’s also a bridge that leads to the abbey farm where visitors can find vegetables, animals and shops that sell wines, religious items, gifts and books. Here, visitors can also pick up the famous Abbey’s Tonic Wine, a drink that has been said to have good effects on both the body and soul.

Caves

Buckfastleigh is also popular for its caves. Among the most commonly visited are:

Bakers Pit – a phreatic cave system abundant with beetles, collembola or Springtails and Pseudosinella Dobati, a type of blind white cave-adapted species

Joint Mitnor Cave – where unfossilised remains of hyaenas, elephants, hippopotamus and bisons can be found

Reed’s Cave – located in the Higher Kiln Quarry and is popular for its unique formations

The Dartmoor National Park

Very near to Buckfastleigh is the Dartmoor National Park, the largest area of open country in South England. Not only does the park offer beautiful views of flowers in Buckfast, it also has an abundance of routes for activities such as walking, cycling and horse-riding. The park also has facilities for geo-caching, kayaking, climbing and letterboxing.

Other attractions worth checking out in Buckfastleigh are the Butterfly farm and the Otter Sanctuary.

Buckfastleigh may seem like a small town with little to offer but it’s actually the opposite that holds true. It may be surrounded by valleys and wild moorland, but it is still a market town that has good reputation for its recreational areas and restaurants. Shops are abundant in the town proper. It won’t even be a problem to buy bouquets or send flowers to Buckfast.

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