Buckfastleigh, is a small market town in a wooded valley on the southern tip of Dartmoor. The name is derived from Buckfast, a place where deer or buck were kept and leigh another name for clearing. Historically, the original settlement would have been Buckfast, which was included in the Domseday book, but the original abbey perished, and the later settlement grew up in Buckfastleigh.
Although the majority of the buildings were rebuilt between the 18th to the early 20th Century, the town does have a medieval feel to its layout that shows its historic roots.
Buckfastleigh developed instead as another of Devon’s wool towns with mills making use of the River Dart’s waters in the production process.
There are a number of attractions nearby which include the South Devon Valley Railway, the Buckfast Butterfly farm, Dartmoor Otter Sanctuary and the Pennywell farm with animals.