The ancient Dartmoor town of Ashburton is the latest to join the UK’s growing list of ‘Totally Locally’ towns.

Totally Locally is a grassroots national campaign with the mission to ‘Live Totally Shop Locally’. In these challenging and uncertain times for retailers, it has never been more important to support the businesses on your local high street. By showcasing the wonderful variety of local shops and their products, Totally Locally aims to encourage people to think differently about how they shop and show that little changes can mean a lot to small businesses. Research has shown that if every adult in the UK spent just £5 a week in their local independent shops instead of online or with multi-national companies an eye watering £13.5 billion a year would go back into our towns. In Ashburton the boost to the local economy would be an extra £750,000 per year!

Jenny from Gnash Comics says: ‘Independent businesses and shops are the bedrock of our communities, and when they thrive they create real jobs, cohesive towns and strong economies’.

Ashburton’s vibrant and diverse high street has a lot to offer local residents with a host of independent and unique shops. You’ll find a butcher, an artisan baker, clothes shops, gift shops, a jewellers, a book shop, delicatessens, antique shops, art galleries and more. And as if that wasn’t enough, when you’re done shopping you can take your pick from a wonderful selection of cafes, restaurants, pubs and bars.

If you needed any more persuading, businesses in Ashburton will be taking part in the upcoming Totally Locally ‘Fiver Fest’. The event launches tomorrow and continues for the whole week until June 15. During this time, Ashburton’s shops will be offering a range of special offers and discounted products for £5.

Ashburton’s high street has proved to be resilient and its traders are always quick to find new and innovative ways to make shopping in the town a pure delight but they cannot do it without your support. So do visit and pick up some great offers in their upcoming ‘Fiver Fest’ and explore all this enchanting Dartmoor town has to offer.

To find out more about the Totally Locally campaign and Fiver Fest visit www.totally- locally.org or follow #totallylocallyashburton on social media to keep up to date with everything that’s going on.