Dartington to Totnes
Foot- and Cyclepath
Shared Habitat initiated the Dartington to Totnes Foot- and Cyclepath as a practical intervention in everyday life. The aim was simple and ambitious: to create a safe, shared route that would change how people move between Dartington and Totnes.
Since its completion in 1991, the path has had a lasting social and ecological impact. It reshaped access to the landscape, encouraged walking and cycling, and opened a route usable by cyclists, pedestrians, and wheelchair users alike, replacing a previously dangerous stretch of road.
Eila Goldhahn negotiated rights of way with the Dartington Trust, worked alongside the national charity Sustrans, and collaborated closely with local communities in Totnes and Dartington. Built with the help of a committed group of volunteers, the path is not a static object but a living structure, maintained through daily use and collective care.
More than three decades on, it remains a much-loved part of local infrastructure — a shared space that affirms the importance of public access, community initiative, and the possibility of shaping environments for collective benefit. While the Dartington Trust hosts information about the path, Shared Habitat initiated and coordinated its creation in collaboration with local communities.
(map drawn by Juliet Robertson of NUTSHELL Natural Paints)
Shared Habitat’s original proposal was to connect Totnes with Buckfastleigh. Thirty years later, new local groups are campaigning to complete the path to Buckfastleigh.
Shared Habitat’s original proposal was to connect Totnes with Buckfastleigh. Thirty years later, new local groups are campaigning to complete the path to Buckfastleigh.
Pfaelzer Hof Artists Residencies in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Pfaelzer Hof Artists Residencies is located in a small, former, hotel in in the town of Idar-Oberstein, Germany’s jewellery making capital, and set in a wooded and vine growing area. Shared Habitat have curated exhibitions and artists residencies from 2013 until 2025 and are accreditd members of the international network of ResArtis. Shared Habitat enable international artists’ retreats that support new ideas and work to flourish in a relaxed atmosphere.
Nina Mischler (Switzerland) creating a mural on the terrace.Jeder Zug zählt (Every move counts) depicts billiard champion Paul Schneider, the former hotelier of Pfaelzer Hof, with balls and globe.
Kelsey Harrison (USA) with her sculptures Pillars of Support, made with architectural timbers from
the underpinning of the Pfaelzer Hof’s historical facade.
Joanna Tam (USA) in her award-winning film Wasenstrasse, conceived of and shot during a Pfaelzer Hof residency on the topic of home and homelessness.
Bruce Asbestos’ striking video works were shown at Pfaelzer Hof Gallery in 2021. Bruce has recently exhibited at Bangkok Bienale (2024) and the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern London (2025).
Lydia Corbett painted a Madonna and Child mural in the entrance lobby of Pfaelzer Hof during her residency in 2013. A second exhibition showed Lydia’s paintings together with Stuart J Young sculptures in 2020.
Member of ResArtis.
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Interval: Impressions of Dartington in Times of Change
Commissioned for Gardens of Culture by KOINZI TANZ, Hamburg, Interval explores Dartington as a site of cultural memory and transition.
The work was created for the Aby Warburg Haus, Hamburg (November 2023), and later exhibited at Birdwood House, Totnes (February 2024).
© Eila Goldhahn & Stuart J Young 2023
Audience responses
“Beguiling and haunting — a comment on a fading, beautiful thing.”
“Fascinating, insightful commentary on the changing life of Dartington.”
“Profound and thoughtful, with strong visual acumen.”
“An excellent and beautiful composition. Meaningful images of change.”
“Very, very impressive.”
“Fascinating, insightful commentary on the changing life of Dartington.”
“Profound and thoughtful, with strong visual acumen.”
“An excellent and beautiful composition. Meaningful images of change.”
“Very, very impressive.”
Related photographic work
All texts, ideas and images © Eila Goldhahn & Stuart J Young 2023