Tarka Trail
The Tarka Trail is a 290 km figure-of-eight route through North Devon following the landscapes described in Henry Williamson's 1927 novel "Tarka the Otter" — through the Exmoor fringe, the Torridge and Taw valleys and the North Devon coast.
This route has no official waymarking. Serious navigation experience is required — do not rely on GPS alone. Carry OS 1:25,000 maps and study the line before you go.
About Tarka Trail
Henry Williamson's novel about an otter's life in the rivers of North Devon mapped a specific landscape with such precision that Tarka's home rivers — the Torridge and Taw — and his coastal hunting grounds are still recognisable today. The Tarka Trail makes a figure-of-eight circuit of these landscapes, one loop following the rivers inland and one following the coast.
The southern loop uses the Tarka Trail cycling/running path on the former Southern Region railway from Barnstaple to Bideford and Torrington — flat, traffic-free and fast. The northern loop follows the South West Coast Path section and the Exmoor fringe.
The route
Southern loop (~85 km): The Taw valley, Barnstaple, the Torrington railway path (flat, excellent surface), and return via the Torridge valley.
Northern loop (~205 km): North Devon Coast Path from Barnstaple to Bideford, Westward Ho! to Clovelly, and the Exmoor coastal section.
Getting there & logistics
Base: Barnstaple. Train from Exeter on the Tarka Line (one of the most scenic branch lines in England).
Best time: April to October.
Safety
The South West Coast Path sections involve cliff-top paths. The Exmoor section is exposed moorland. In an emergency: call 999 or 112. For coastal incidents ask for Coastguard. Exmoor SAR covers the moorland sections.
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