Tarka Trail, North Devon

[westcountryman]

Hi,

I've had a look down through the pages of this section, & can't see any mention of the line made famous by James May's recent programmes.

I am lucky enough to have moved near to the line in question, which has been turned into a wonderful footpath /cycleway by the local council.

It has been a delight to walk along the sections of the line which I knew as an operating line during my childhood.

I am amazed at how much of the original infrastructure there is remaining, it's as if they took up the track, laid the tarmac on the old trackbed, & left it at that.

From the start of the trail in Braunton, there is the original LSWR goods shed (now a visitor centre) , lattice signal posts with semaphores still in situ, & the old station building (now a newsagents) by the former level crossing.

Continue down the trail, past Vellator (old crossing gates & semaphore signal) past Wrafton, & follow the former rail route, past RMB Chivenor beside the Taw estuary.

There are constant reminders of it's former glory, gradient posts & lineside structures, a wealth of reference material for modelling.

The former track deviates when you reach Barnstaple, as the old river rail bridge section has now been removed between Barnstaple Town station ( former LSWR, Southern & Lynton & Barnstaple) & Barnstaple Junction (now the mainline station).

The route onto the Tarka Trail deviates slightly from the original route, due to major road improvements, but you are soon on the Barnstaple to Bideford section, as used by James May & Oz Clarke.

The Barnstaple museum is worth a visit, as they have a treasure trove of items dating back to the beginning of the railways in North Devon.

Memories of the former line are on constant offer, from the overbridge at Penhill, to the reconstructed station complex at Fremington, now a wonderful cafe, get there early to avoid queuing!

OK, maybe they've re-sited the signal box to the other side of the line, but it still evokes the old Southern feeling.

A long section through Yelland, where I am lucky enough to live, brings you to Instow, a delightful seaside location, with almost all of the old infrastructure remaining.

It's not only bridges, tunnels, crossing gates & signals, but also almost all of the old station & signal box in it's entirety, complete with Southern fencing.

It's all maintained beautifully, & it's a credit to those who venture out during the parts of the year when our area isn't visited by large numbers of tourists.

The Instow signal box is currently used as a visitor centre / information centre, & it's a delight to visit on a spare afternoon.

The section between Instow & Bideford has a wealth of trackside features, from gradient posts to overbridges, & is well worth a visit.

Simply walking along this section evokes memories of trains headed by 'spam-cans' curving along the track beside the River Torridge.

At Bideford station, the end point of James May's televised challenge, there is a fantastic visitor centre, based in the old station buildings & former carriages.

There are a small band of volunteers working miracles with the rolling stock & a small diesel shunter, & I'm reliably informed that they posess the UK's shortest preserved railway line!

The Tarka Trail continues beyond this point to Torrington, where a number of former railway structures still exist, following the line to Meeth Halt.

If any of you are visiting North Devon during the summer holidays, try to visit the line, as it's the most complete & picturesque former line I've ever witnessed

[Ramblin Rich]

I've just stumbled onto the fact that Google must have strapped one of their Streetview "periscopes" onto a bike & run it down the Tarka Trail all the way from Barnstaple to Meeth! I've just spent an hour or so spotting locations such as Fremington, Instow station , Torrington station, the halts at Watergate, Yarde, Meeth - all perfectly recognisable. It's possible to get close views of overbridges & other railway structures. It almost makes a field trip unnecessary!

I don't know why the Tarka Trail has been singled out for this, other routes in the area (Okehampton - Meldon, Camel Trail) don't have Streetview coverage...

 

Edit - actually, the coverage starts from Braunton - hadn't thought to look that way from Barnstaple as well!

Edited February 6, 2012 by Ramblin Rich

[Mr Iceman]

looks like they must of used a quad as the braunton end stops short of station close at the gate instead of joining the road as it normaly would.... Just fired off an email to sustrans (the guys in charge of these paths) to see if this is a one off or its going to be done for all the off road cycle paths.

[KeithMacdonald]

I've just measured it on All Trails; it's 42 kilometres.

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/tarka-trail-marathon-0e79548?u=m

 

For those of us that are staying young by staying fit, it would make an excellent off-road and relatively flat marathon route. I'd recommend starting at the Meeth end and finishing in Barnstaple near the pubs.

 

 

[KeithMacdonald]

On 08/02/2012 at 12:59, Mr Iceman said:

looks like they must of used a quad as the braunton end stops short of station close at the gate instead of joining the road as it normaly would.... Just fired off an email to sustrans (the guys in charge of these paths) to see if this is a one off or its going to be done for all the off road cycle paths.

 

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