Axminster has always perhaps been best known for its carpets and latterly as the headquarters of ‘River Cottage,’ a 60 acre farm in the Axe Valley. The town now also has a River Cottage organic shop and café. Axminster has many other amenities including a swimming pool, sports centre, library, theatre and hospital. It also has two supermarkets and a small department store as well as numerous independent shops. A market is held in the town on a Thursday. The West of England main-line railway runs through from Exeter to London Waterloo. One of the Country’s top grammar schools, Colyton Grammar School, is in the area, founded in 1546 and rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.