Tarka Trail, Devon

woodyt

Hi there,
We’re off to Devon soon and thinking about cycling the Tarka Trail.
We were hoping to let our mutt run along the side of the bikes but I’m struggling to find out what the trail is like ie does it run alongside the roads? He’s the sort that would see a squirrel and run!
Any advice and the best routes to do with ( or possibly without!) the dog would be greatly received.
Thankyou

fwor

I've only done part of it, so I can't comment on all, but from what I have:

Much of it is on old railway lines, so it's good for cycling, but inevitably it crosses a lot of roads! If you can't trust your dog not to run into traffic at these points then walking with the dog on a lead would be preferable, rather than cycling with it off-lead.

However, there is a section that leads into Ilfracombe from the west, and that's a fairly long section that's completely isolated from any roads (runs beside several reservoirs) so that area would be pretty safe. Be warned - though it's an ex-rail line, the railway finished high above Ilfracombe, so it's quite steep from there into the town!