Bovey Tracey: Crafts, History and Riverside Walks

Bovey Tracey combines a vibrant craft culture with local history, riverside walks and a variety of experiences for different travel plans. Those looking for holiday accommodation can therefore shape their stay around their own interests: culture, walks, family attractions and routes towards Dartmoor offer different focal points side by side.

Discover Crafts and History

MAKE Southwest is an exhibition venue for contemporary crafts and design. The venue is located in Bovey Tracey on the edge of Dartmoor, providing a contemporary contrast to the town's historic traces. At Bovey Tracey Heritage Centre, archives, photographs and artefacts preserve the town's history from its medieval origins to the present day.

The Heritage Centre's changing exhibitions cover, among other subjects, the pottery industry, the granite tramway, local mining, agriculture and Bovey Tracey's railways. The site also contains the remains of an internationally significant pottery kiln and a restored GWR brake van. An activity area for children complements the historical focus.

The town's past can also be encountered outside the Heritage Centre. Riverside Mill was built as a stable block in 1850, when the building belonged to John Divett, the owner of Bovey Pottery. Bovey Tracey's pottery industry was established in the 1750s. As early as 1260, Henry de Tracey received a charter allowing a weekly market and an annual fair in Bovey Tracey. Cromwell's Arch is the only surviving relic of a monastery demolished in 1822.

Excursions, Riverside Walks and Experiences

For an outing offering a range of impressions, House of Marbles is a visitor attraction in Bovey Tracey. The venue comprises four museums dedicated to games, glass, ceramics and marbles. Interactive marble runs, an in-house embossing machine and fairground mirrors bring the collection to life and give the visit a playful character. Teign Valley Glass is a working glassworks with a viewing platform.

The River Bovey flows through Bovey Tracey and shapes the routes along the water. Mill Marsh Park offers riverside walking paths, a play area and space for picnics. Nearby is the Parke Estate, with walking routes through woodland, pasture and along the riverbank. The nearby Parke Estate can be reached on foot from the centre of Bovey Tracey via the riverside. Those considering centrally located holiday accommodation can take this documented route into account when planning their own day.

For longer routes, the Stover Trail connects Newton Abbot with Bovey Tracey and continues via the Wray Valley Trail towards Dartmoor. Bovey Tracey's annual Craft Festival takes place every June and provides an additional highlight for visitors who want to experience crafts and local culture.

Guidance for Choosing Your Accommodation

The Bovey Tracey Information Centre is located next to the library in the Riverside Community Centre, directly by the Station Road car park at the river bridge. Visitors can obtain information there about attractions, activities, walking routes, cycling, maps and local transport. This point of contact can be helpful if you want to divide your days between culture, riverside walks and excursions.

When looking for holiday accommodation, it is worth first deciding on your preferred travel rhythm. A location suited to an interest in local history and exhibitions fits a culture-focused stay; those planning walks and picnics can consider the routes along the River Bovey, Mill Marsh Park or to the Parke Estate. For families, House of Marbles, the activity area at the Heritage Centre and the play area at Mill Marsh Park offer different forms of shared activity. This keeps the choice of accommodation connected to your actual plans for the stay, without requiring every day to be arranged in the same way.

Further destinations for your travel planning include Instow, Halberton, North Bovey, Kingsbridge, Hemyock, Wotter, Yelverton and Lapford.

For the higher-level travel overview: Devon.