Bishopsteignton

Bishopsteignton is a village built on a hill so steep the walk home doubles as a cardiac stress test, which is a bold arrangement for a place where the average resident has already retired. It sits between Newton Abbot and Teignmouth without quite belonging to either, close enough to the estuary for the light and far enough up the slope that nobody has to think about the water. There is a shop, a post office, a pharmacy and a school, which locals will describe as everything you need in a tone that dares you to disagree. What it mostly is, is quiet, and the people who moved here for the quiet are watching very carefully to see whether you understood that before you arrived.