I did it!

On our last visit to Devon and whilst researching running or biking trails I came across the Tarka Trail, or was it Tarka Trial? At 30 miles it is one of the country's longest continuous traffic-free walking and cycling paths. And I determined at some unspecified time to do at least its southern 26 miles. And so, armed with the loan of J's bike and adequate clothing and supplies of food and water, I took the plunge and set out yesterday at 06:00.

My track in OpenTopoMap

You can follow my track in detail by downloading my track GPX file, opening a the link to OpenTopoMap, clicking the GPX button at top left and selecting the file. You can then zoom in/out and interactively follow the route via the mouse in the elevation profile. On a slow connection the underlying map may take a while to load, and the OpenTopoMap server appears to be designed to slow down if you request too many map tiles.

Or, in brief the track was 42.8 miles to get to the southernmost end of the trail, 26 miles of traffic free trail, and then home via the very busy North Devon Link road A361, a total of 106.7 miles, elevation gain 2054m, average speed moving 10.7 mph. The trail boasts two tunnels and numerous bridges under roads and over rivers, mostly existing but one bridge built especially for the trail.

first segment, courtesy Google Maps

The outward journey was selected by Google Maps with the bicycle option and was enjoyable - very little traffic, mostly side-roads including one segment of footpath. The Tarka Trail itself was delectable. It mostly follows former dismantled railway lines so the gradients are gentle. Initially quiet of Other People, the closer I got to Bideford the busier it became with a significant proportion of walkers as well as bikers, and of children whose riding skills were questionable.

The return journey via the A361 was gruelling, but then I expected no better. Never was anyone so glad to see the little houses of Tiverton perched on their hillside, and then to negotiate the roundabout where I left the A361.

The first village on my outward journey was Brithem Bottom. I'm not sure what was special about his, but on my return mine was, and still is, well imprinted with bicycle saddle. Another random observation was about Barnstaple, the termination of the Tarka Trial as far as I was concerned (the traffic free part does go a bit further north to Braunton Burrows and it would have been cool to go that far but, really...). Bideford and all before it was delightful. The locals had obviously tried to make the trail an experience in dressing up the old stations, adding Interesting Things to do or look at, and providing coffee shops and the like. And besides, Bideford is, in my childhood memories, the gateway to Westward Ho!

But between Bideford and Barnstaple the experience dwindled until at Barnstaple the Braunton route tacitly veered off across the bridge over the river Taw leaving those that didn't go that way with a quandary. Local inhabitants appeared to have interest only in giant Asda and Tesco Extra mega-stores and when I asked several passers-by how I might get from where I was to the A361 their response was a mixture of incredibility that anyone should want to bike to Tiverton at all, and ignorance as to the basic geography of the place. Oh, and my own chosen route had been over a foot bridge that had been closed, seemingly permanently. I had intended to take my picnic lunch on a suitable patch of lush grass at the Barnstaple end of the trail, but as no such patch existed I ended up in a noisy layby on the A361 out of town. No, Barnstaple is not the place for outside people like me. 

Here is a link to my photo album for those that cannot zoom in on the following.

first mention: a non-cycle part of Tarka near Dolton

Start of the cycle Tarka trail at Meeth

The old station at Meeth

Example of wayside interests

Example of frequent wayside sculptures

A former railway station

The new bridge over the river Torridge

River Torridge

Torrington station

The longer of two tunnels at Landcross

Girder bridge over the Torridge estuary

Looking back on same

The same

Ruin across the Torridge

First sight of Bideford

Bideford railway station that was

View across road bridge over Torridge

Ship wreck north of Bideford

Somewhere near Appledore

Mud flats between Bideford and Barnstaple

I found a gem!

OpenTopoMap is the best free mapping service for hiking and cycling that I have found, but it gives no indication of whether a path is a right-of-way. In contrast UK Ordnance Survey maps do show right-of-ways e.g. here and I include an excerpt below for comparison, moreover this site is devoted to showing them. 

My track 12.6 miles

The gem, in OpenTopoMap

Same area in Ordnance Survey 1:25000

So, I headed north along the Tiverton Parkway cycle route and found the entrance to the "gem" between the station car park and the small pond.  This path is omitted on the Ordnance Survey and FPM maps because it is a "permissive path" and not a right-of-way, and yet the land owners have done an amazing job: lush cut grass underfoot, occasional areas with picnic tables, and appropriate well maintained fencing and gates.

Check out my photos below. Click on any of the images to zoom in. 

Note the GWR up and down trains passing...

...in the near distance

No, I didn't ingest any without relizing (sic) it!

This right-of-way crossed someone's garden

I followed this typical Devon road

View from highest point

 And on the way back I checked out that elusive footpath at Whitnage.

I climbed Keadeen

My track: 36.4 miles cycling

and 4.4 miles hiking

A new mountain peak for me: Keadeen at the south west limit of the Wicklow Mountains and standing somewhat separate connected only by the Ballinabarny Gap.  It was Sunday and I met several other groups tackling the peak, though none without shoes and mostly with those hiking sticks which I abhor (at least for easy hiking like this). There was even a parking place, which I biked to from home, and the trail was well used though boggy in places.

Overall stats: 40.8 miles, elevation gain 1394m, maximum 658m though, interestingly, other sites report varying heights e.g. 653m, 635m, and OpenTopoMap, which is the best open sourced map ever, reports a spot height of 705.3m though its contours do not bear this up.

Here is a pile of my photos, the last one being of mist rising from our lake the early morning after. Click on the images to view full-screen.