Drake’s Trail is part of NCN 27, and the Devon Coast-To-Coast trail, and links Yelverton with Tavistock. Overall it is a gorgeous cycle path, even though much of the surface isn’t tarred, and it forms a natural extension to the Plym Valley cycle path that links Plymouth with Yelverton. As such, it means there is an almost entirely off-road cycle path linking Tavistock & Plymouth.
The only problem with Drake’s Trail (aside from having been named after a militant slave trader!) is where it crosses the river Walkham. From either side there is a steep drop to the river. One side is a tarred path, but is so steep that my bike suffered from wheel spin when I last cycled up that hill. The other side is a rough dirt track.
Devon County Council had agreed funds to build a viaduct across, and the last time I cycled past there I saw marker stakes showing where the supports would be built. I haven’t had any chance to cycle out there for quite a while and I was curious about what progress may have been made in the mean time.
What I did find was an artist’s impression of what the finished viaduct would look like:
In case you were wondering about the source of the image, somebody posted it to a CTC forum. You can see that forum post here: http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=24573
I can’t wait for this to be completed! As soon as I get the chance, I’ll cycle out there and take some pics, then update the blog with whatever progress had been made.