Today, the town has a sizeable alternative and New Age community, known as a place where one can live a bohemian lifestyle,[3] though has in recent times also gained a reputation as being a hotspot for conspiracy theorists within the UK.

According to the Historia Regum Britanniae written by Geoffrey of Monmouth in around 1136, "the coast of Totnes" was where Brutus of Troy, the mythical founder of Britain, first came ashore on the island.

And this town shall be called Totnes.The stone is far above the highest tides and the tradition is not likely to be of great antiquity, being first mentioned in John Prince's Worthies of Devon in 1697.

[14] The Historia has several other landings at the Totness coast: the Roman general Vespasian, Constantine of Brittany at the port of Totnes, Aurelius Ambrosius and his brother Uther Pendragon attempting to win back the throne of Britain from the usurper Vortigern, the Saxons at war with King Arthur, and in one version Cadwallo fighting against the Mercians.

[15] The Historia also mentions the town in a prophecy of Merlin: "after [the dragon of Worcester] shall succeed the boar of Totness, and oppress the people with grievous tyranny.

[18] Some time between the Norman Conquest in 1066 and the compilation of the Domesday Book in 1086, William the Conqueror granted the burh to Juhel of Totnes, who was probably responsible for the first construction of the castle.

[20] By 1523, according to a tax assessment, Totnes was the second-richest town in Devon, and the sixteenth-richest in England, ahead of Worcester, Gloucester and Lincoln.

In 1990, a serious fire broke out on the High Street, resulting in the historic Eastgate structure being destroyed and an estimated £10 million in damage.

Totnes has adopted an Energy Descent Plan, as a response in answer to the twin problems of greenhouse gas emissions and peak oil.

As a result of a series of public gatherings with experts, and the organisation of a number of special interest groups, the community has come together with lecturers and trainers shared with Schumacher College, through a process of participative strategic planning, to hone their skills in project development.[promotion?]

In 2019, she moved to Change UK, and then to the Liberal Democrats, for whom she contested Totnes in the 2019 general election, coming second when the seat reverted to the Conservatives.

[31] The town is built on a hill rising from the west bank of the River Dart, which separates Totnes from the suburb of Bridgetown.

The river continues to be tidal for about 1 mile (1.6 km) above the town, until it meets Totnes Weir, built in the 17th century.

[34] A further 0.5 miles (0.80 km) upstream, the railway bridge carries the National Rail Exeter to Plymouth line over the river.

[36][37] There are a number of facilities for artists, painters and musicians, and there is a twice-weekly market offering antiques, musical instruments, second-hand books, handmade clothing from across the world, and local organically produced products.

[39] Fourteen months later, 70 businesses within the town were trading in the "Totnes Pound," accepting them as payment and offering them to shoppers as change from their purchases.

Emphasising the town's continuing history of boatbuilding, between 1998 and 2001 Pete Goss built his revolutionary but ill-fated 120-foot Team Philips catamaran there, which had to be abandoned mid-Atlantic when it started to break up.

[41] Loss of revenue from Dartington College of Arts, which moved to Falmouth in 2010, was partially offset by increased tourism due to interest in Totnes's status as a transition town.

[32] The late medieval church of St Mary with its 120 feet (37 m) high west tower, visible from afar, is built of rich red Devonian sandstone.

Since the River Dart is navigable to seagoing boats as far as Totnes, the estuary was used for the import and export of goods from the town until 1995.