Princetown Railway cycle route overall rating:
(Colour explanation: blue = good, yellow indicates some warning, and red indicates issues to be aware of)
The Princetown Railway used to run from Plymouth to Princetown. The route that’s described here starts in Princetown and heads to Burrator Reservoir. It is possible to make it an almost entirely traffic-free loop by combining it with the Nun’s Cross Trail, from Burrator to Princetown.
This is a Green route, meaning it’s easy to cycle. In fact, from Princetown, for the first 5 miles, the route is even suitable for young children.
Surface on the Princetown Railway
The surface can be a tad bumpy, as you’d expect from a gravel route. In places, after wet weather, it can be muddy, and in parts the track is overgrown with grass, and can be slippery.
Bikes
You will need a gravel bike, a good hybrid, or a mountain bike. Trikes and most cargo bikes will struggle with this route.
Refreshments
There are several cafés in Princetown, as well as two pubs, but nothing further along the trail. By Burrator, if you’re lucky, there might be an ice-cream van.
Toilets
There are toilets in Princetown only.
Hilliness
As is typical for disused railway routes, the gradients are very shallow, and in places the route if totally flat.
Safety from traffic
The route is entirely traffic-free
Ratings
Points of Interest
The route passes the quarry where the granite for London Bridge came from, and there are still two granite corbels, perfectly carved, lying quite close to the the trail.
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 styles along the route and you will have to lift your bike over.
Child friendliness
While even young children can, and often do use the first part of the route, overall it’s not suitable for children.
Social safety
Parts of the route are very isolated.
Forecast for the Princetown Railway
What the Princetown Railway looks like
Getting to the Princetown Railway
Given that the route follows the now-disused railway line, it stands to reason that Princetown no longer has a rail link. The only way of getting there is to cycle, or to drive. There’s a pay-and-display carpark in Princetown, very close to the start of the route.
More Routes
To find more routes, click this link.
DayCycle
DayCycle routes are routes 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 the Princetown Railway
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.
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