Tavistock and Okehampton are both in the running for ‘best place to live in Devon’ by a stylish lifestyle website.
Muddy Stilettos Devon gives a glowing account of both towns as places to shop and linger over lunch as it invites people to vote from a shortlist of ten Devon towns and villages.
This sees Okehampton and Tavistock rub shoulders with Sidmouth, Exmouth, Ashburton, Tiverton, Totnes, Topsham and Kingsbridge and the St Leonard’s area of Exeter.
Muddy Stilettos Devon editor Lisa Buckland said the contest was a chance for people to give the thumbs up for the place they liked best.
It is part of Muddy Stilettos’ Top Places to Live Feature, run across the whole country in 28 counties.
In each county, the editor has chosen ten towns and has then thrown it open to readers to make their choice.
‘It is the editors’ choice in each of the 28 counties we cover. Each of us have chosen the ten places we think are the best places to live in, bearing in mind families want amenities and schools and also want lovely walks,' said Lisa.
'Last year, Tavistock as one of those but for the first time we put it to the readers. This is a big vote across all the counties. It is just a lovely fun thing, all about shouting out for local area.’
The website’s write up about Tavistock says: ‘A rare UNESCO World Heritage Site it may be but Tavi, as the locals call it, is no museum piece. Sitting pretty on the River Tavy, this stannary town’s high street and famous Pannier Market are vibrant and busy. If you like Harrogate, you’ll love Tavistock – and positively swoon over the abundance of Georgian architecture. *sigh*’
Meanwhile, the entry for Okehampton describes how the return of the railway has done its bit for the town which it says ‘has long had everything you could want in terms of a rural idyll, making it a thoroughly wholesome place to raise a family’.
The piece adds: ‘Now, thanks to the recent reopening of the Dartmoor line, it is prime commuter territory too, putting Exeter just forty minutes away by train.’
It goes on to speak highly of Okehampton town centre, mentioning the Harvest Workers’ Co-op for farm produce and cooking workshops and Okehampton’s own bookshop Dogberry & Finch, which scooped best bookshop in the Muddy Awards 2021.
To find out more and vote, visit the Muddy Stilettos website here.