Heritage Open Day: A guided walk exploring the history of communications in Tavistock – starting by the statue of the Duke of Bedford near the Town Hall and seeing examples of turnpike roads, bridges, tollhouses and the remnants of the railway. Before the middle of the 18th Century getting to and from Tavistock, as in many other parts of Devon, would have been extraordinary difficult – having to ride on horseback or in cart or carriage or transporting good by packhorse over roads muddy, rutted and badly maintained by each parish on the route. In 1762 the Tavistock Turnpike Trust was formed in order to maintain the major routes which the town was dependent upon and recoup the costs by charging tolls to use the roads.