Route Overview
| Distance | The Wray Trail is 7 miles long, making it a 14 mile there-and-back ride. |
|---|---|
| Surface | The route varies between sealed and unsealed. Along the unsealed parts, after rain it can get a bit muddy in places, but remains rideable all year. |
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Child-Friendliness | ✅ Very child-friendly |
| Suitable Bikes | You can use any type of bike, including cargo bikes and tandems on this route. |
| Barriers | There are no barriers along the route. There is a gate that people who cannot dismount may struggle with. |
The Wray Valley Trail cycle route overall rating:
(Colour explanation: blue = good, yellow indicates some warning, and red indicates issues to be aware of)
The Wray Valley Trail links Bovey Tracey with Moretonhampstead, with much of the route along a disused railway line. The route takes it’s name from the Wray Valley, through which the Wray Brook runs.
Disused railway lines imply gentle gradients, but from the outset you need to be aware that this route includes some 11% climbs. Those are along the stretch where the Wray Trail follows (normally) very quiet lanes through the picturesque village of Lustleigh.
You can download a Tails From The Rails audio trail from the Dartmoor National Park website.
Surface on the Wray Valley Trail
You start off in Bovey Tracey along a tarred path through a park, but as soon as you crossed under the B-road, the path becomes unsurfaced.
However, though it can get a bit muddy in some places, the entire trail remains rideable all year round.
Later, there are more tarred segments, with a really good surface. Surprisingly, one of those segments can be problematic: it suffers from fairly minor flooding. It is not uncommon, after periods of rain, to be cycling through 5cm of water over the path.
Refreshments
Bovey Tracey offers a choice between a number of cafés. In Moretonhampstead, the choice is far more limited, and both cafés usually close by 16:00, which is unfortunate.
Bikes
You can take any kind of bicycle on the Wray Trail. Riders of road bikes with skinny wheels will find the route a bit bumpy in places.
Toilets
There are toilets at the start, in Bovey Tracey, and again at the end, in Moretonhampstead.
Hilliness
There are three hills along the route: the 1st 11% gradient when entering Lustleigh, then a second climb, topping out at 9% directly after. There’s also a 10% climb into Moretonhampstead itself.
However, there’s a valid reason people say they’re going up onto the moor: most of the route is a climb towards the end.
Safety from traffic
The entire route is NOT traffic-free. Through Lustleigh, the route follows a narrow, and usually very quiet lane. Local drivers are quite accustomed to encountering cyclists and pedestrians on that lane. The very last into Moretonhampstead itself is on the road, too.
Points of Interest
Do visit Make Southwest – a combined exhibitions space and shop for contemporary art and design. They have a café too.
Fuelled by Caffeine does an excellent coffee.
House of Marbles offers more art, much of it focused around glass.
If old cars are your thing, do visit the Moreton Motor Museum.
Routes in Devon
- Tarka Trail – Barnstaple to Braunton
- Tarka Trail – Ilfracombe to Willingcott
- The Wray Valley Trail
- 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 – Dawlish to Exeter St Davids
- Family-friendly Cycling on Drake’s Trail
Barriers
There are several gates along the route. They are all wide enough for an average trike or cargo bike to easily pass through, but people who cannot dismount may struggle.
Cycle Hire
Sadly, there are no bicycle hire services on, or near the trail.
Child friendliness
Especially between Bovey Tracey and where the route rejoins the road, just before Lustleigh, the route is very well suited for even young kids.
As ever, due to the promity of the river, ensure there’s at least one competent adult swimmer along.
Further along, children may struggle with the hills.
Social safety
Most of the route can be extremely isolated, though over weekends, in mid-summer, it can get fairly busy.
Weather forecast for the
What the Wray Valley Trail looks like
The video below is a 4x speed view of the entire route.
Getting to the Wray Valley Trail
My suggestion is to combine the Stover Trail, then simply cycle there from Newton Abbott. That means 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.
Parking near the Wray Valley Trail
There is a pay & display car park at 1 Station Rd, Bovey Tracey, TQ13 9AL, but be aware that on hot, sunny days, over the school holidays, it fills up quite quickly.
More Routes
To find more routes, click this link.
The Wray Valley Trail route interactive map
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 in any treasure hunts that may be active along the route.
And finally…
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