Route Overview
| Distance | 7.8 miles |
|---|---|
| Surface | The route has a sealed surface throughout (mostly tar) but in a few places can be a bit bumpy. |
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Child-Friendliness | ✅ Very child-friendly |
| Suitable Bikes | Anything (including trikes) |
| Barriers | There are no barriers along the route. |
| Café / Food | There are ample café options along the route:The Stationmaster's Café at the train station, The Bike Shed (great coffee but slightly off route), Plant Bar Café (slightly off route) , Queen Anne's Café, Heanton Court, The Kabin Café, and the Quay Café. |
| Train Access | The route starts at Barnstaple train station. If coming from out-of-area, change at Exeter St David's. |
| Parking | There's a pay-and-display car park next to the train station (Station Rd, Sticklepath, Barnstaple EX31 2AU). While there's free parking at Tesco, that's time-limited for just 2 hours, and reserved for shoppers. |
The Tarka Trail is simply stunning, and this section is exceptional, in so many ways. With glorious views over the incredible Taw and Torridge estuary, the route offers waterside tranquillity, mixed with rural, traffic-free bliss, along a disused railway.
There are a number of cafés along the route, from the start at the Barnstaple train station, where bike hire is available. It is a beautiful route, perfectly suited to even young kids.
NOTE: Currently, there’s building work on the south bank of the river, but if the map will guide you around that. Unfortunately, the underpass on the north bank of the river is currently close, with no signed diversion. You will need to divert onto the roads for a short bit.
Overall rating for this part of the Tarka Trail:
(Colour explanation: blue = good, yellow indicates some warning, and red indicates issues to be aware of)
Surface on the
The entire route has a sealed surface throughout. In Barnstaple itself, after crossing the Iron Bridge, roots under the tar make the path quite bumpy in places.
Refreshments
There are ample café options along the route, beginning with The Stationmaster’s Café at the train station. Others include The Bike Shed (great coffee!), Plant Bar Café (slightly off route) , Queen Anne’s Café, Heanton Court, The Kabin Café, the Quay Café.
Bikes
You can use absolutely any type of bicycle along this route, including trikes, cargo bikes and tandems, and even penny farthings.
Toilets
There are toilets at the train station, at the Tesco (the route goes past it), several places in Barnstaple, and at various cafés along the route, as well as at the Tesco in Braunton (just off the route).
Hilliness
The route is almost completely flat.
Safety from traffic
While the entire route isn’t actually traffic-free, the tiny bit of on-road cycling in Braunton is normally very quiet.
Points of Interest
Spend some time at Ravenscar, looking at the town that never was.
Routes in Devon
- Tarka Trail – Barnstaple to Braunton
- Tarka Trail – Ilfracombe to Willingcott
- Dart Valley Cycleway
- Exmouth to Budleigh Salterton
- The Exe Estuary cycle route to Exmouth
- Nun’s Cross Trail cycle route
- Princetown Railway traffic-free cycle route
- Saltram Loop traffic-free cycle route
- DayCycle – Tarka Trail
- Family-friendly Cycling On The Granite Way
- DayCycle – A Redlake adventure
- DayCycle – Grand Western Canal
- DayCycle – Stover Trail & Wray Valley Trail
- DayCycle – Dawlish to Exeter St Davids
- Family-friendly Cycling on Drake’s Trail
Barriers
There are no barriers along the entire route. There are some gate-openings, but trikes, cargo bikes and tandems should be able to easily get through.
Cycle Hire
You can hire bikes at Tarka Trail Cycle Hire (right by the station), and at Waterside Bike Hire.
Child friendliness
This route is suitable for even younger kids, but do take care where the route crosses at-times busy roads.
Social safety
Despite some sections of the route feeling very rural, expect it to be busy with people, especially during the summer.
Weather forecast for the route
What the route looks like
Getting to the start
The route as shown on the map below starts at Barnstaple train station, so you can easily get to the start car-free, by taking your bike on the train. As ever, read my Bikes On Trains guide for useful and helpful tips for taking your bike on the train.
Barnstaple station is at the end of the Tarka Branch line, and of coming from further afield, you’ll need to change at Exeter St David’s.
Parking near this route
There’s a fairly large carp park adjacent to the train station (Station Rd, Sticklepath, Barnstaple EX31 2AU) but do note that it is pay-and-display.
More Routes
To find more routes, click this link.
DayCycle
DayCycle routes are routes that can can easily be cycled by most people in a day, or part of a day. Do have a look at all the other DayCycle routes available on WillCycle.
Interactive map for this part of the Tarka Trail
You can download the GPX file from the map below, simply by clicking the GPX button. Hovering over the elevation profile will show the elevation for that point along the route, in both metres and feet. It will also show the gradient.
If viewing the map on your phone, you will also see a Find Me, Navigate and Record Route button, below the map. WillCyclers can have voice turn-by-turn navigation of the route, and participate with any treasure hunts that may be active along the route.
And finally…
If this route guide was of use to you, it will be of use to others, too. Don’t keep it secret! Share it with everyone, on social media, in Facebook Groups, on chat forums, and elsewhere.