Buckfastleigh Town

Fore Street in winter

Fore Street in winter

The historic mill town of Buckfastleigh and the neighbouring abbey village of Buckfast, can be found nestling on the southern edge of eastern Dartmoor in Devon just off the A38, midway between the cities of Exeter and Plymouth.

The name "Buckfast" means "stronghold" – traditionally a place where deer and buck were held, and "Leigh" would have been the pasture belonging to Buckfast – hence the meaning deer held in a pasture (buck-fast-leigh). Buckfast probably existed before Buckfastleigh as it is mentioned in the Domesday Book and in 1018 a Benedictine Abbey was founded and endorsed by King Canute at Buckfast.

Read more about the town here...

Window Wanderland comes to Buckfastleigh

In the evening of Saturday, 2nd March the town will be transformed into a Window Wanderland, as people and businesses decorate their windows or gardens.  Everyone is invited to join in by either doing something in their home or simply by going out to admire the windows between 6 and 9 pm on 2nd March.  More info here.

Mayor’s Response to Lib Dem Election Leaflet

Recently a leaflet published by the Liberal Democrats was distributed to every household in the town, making a number of allegations about the conduct of the present Town Council.  You can read here the Mayor's response to this leaflet.

Proposed Housing Developments in Buckfastleigh

You can read here a current summary of the major housing developments in our town that are either currently being considered by Dartmoor National Park planners or are proposed.

If you wish to comment on the general situation with regard to housing in the area, the best way is to give input to the Local Plan review which is currently taking place and which ends on February 4th.  More information on why the Local Plan is important can be found here. 

Sign up to Devon Alert!

Find out about Devon and Cornwall Alert, a free community messaging system run by Devon and Cornwall Police to inform members of the public about crimes and incidents affecting their local area, here 

Local Elections Coming Up

Elections for the Town Council are coming up in May...  but there will only be voting if there are  more candidates nominated than there are seats available.  There are 12 Town Councillors so we need at least 13 nominations to have an election in the town.  Find out  more about how it all works here.

More SOUP in Buckfastleigh – Pitch for your Project or Idea

Following the tasty success of the first ever Buckfastleigh SOUP community fundraising event in October 2018, Buckfastleigh Town Council and Teignbridge CVS have now confirmed the date of the next event to support small groups and individuals with new community ideas.  It will be on Friday, June 7th at 6.00 pm. Find out more and sign-up here

Walking for Health

Buckfastleigh Walking for Health is offering free easy guided walks every second Wednesday this year. Walking is the lowest risk of all physical activities, yet produces massive benefits to physical fitness and mental wellbeing. It is a great way to explore your local area, make new friends and learn more about your immediate community. The next walk is on February 27th and will go from Huccaby Bridge on Dartmoor to St. Raphel's Church to see the beautiful display of snowdrops.  More info here

Falcon Bus Stop at Buckfastleigh?

Would you like to have the Falcon bus stop at Dartbridge?  The Council is trying to persuade Stagecoach to put a bus stop there instead of at Marley Head.

Read here to find out who you can contact if you want to help make this happen.

Dementia Carers and Friends – Training and Support

There is a support group for dementia carers on the first Thursday of every month in Newton Abbot.  More info here.

You can also train to become a Dementia Friends Champion.  More info here