Devon C2C
“Many sections of the Devon Coast to Coast are traffic-free and flat, making them ideal for families or less experienced cyclists”. Thus the Sustrans website, extolling the virtues of NCN Route 27 from Ilfracombe to Plymouth.
The route does indeed make substantial use of old railway paths, which are traffic-free, well-surfaced and mostly well-graded:
- The Tarka Trail from Braunton, through Barnstaple and Bideford along the Taw and Torridge rivers to near Petrockstowe.
- The Granite Way from Okehampton to Lydford
- Drake’s Way from Tavistock to Plymouth (Sir Francis Drake was born in Tavistock)
The railway sections are blissful, with lovely scenery along the river estuaries, wooded valleys and across the shoulder of Dartmoor
Between Mary Tavy and Peter Tavy the route is on a narrow bridleway with a surface that is steep and loose in parts. Some users have described this section as dangerous. It is necessary to dismount if you encounter another bike on the narrow section.
Although Drake’s Way mainly follows the old railway line from Tavistock to Plymouth, the section from Horrabridge to Yelverton follows a different alignment across Roborough Down, with a quarter-mile stretch on a gradient (going south) of more than 7% and a maximum of 10%.
Click here for an Instagram overview of the two-day adventure.
The map shows the actual route I took. An official Devon Coast to Coast Cycle Route Map (Route 27 – Ilfracombe to Plymouth) is available from Sustrans, with or without an official GPX file. As with many NCN routes, the signage can be hard to spot in places, although this is better than most (except going through Tavistock). Parts of the route are also coincident with NCN 3 (Land’s End to Bristol), Eurovelo 1 (the Atlantic Coast Route) and the Tour de Manche.
Logistics
The mapped route from Ilfracombe to Plymouth is almost exactly 100 miles, making it very suitable for a two-day ride if you’re happy to ride 50+ miles a day. At 45 miles from Ilfracombe, the Half Moon Inn in the village of Sheepwash makes an ideal overnight stop, as the pub is very friendly and used to dealing with groups of cyclists. Another possibility would be something in Hatherleigh, which is nearer to the actual half-way point.
I was fortunate enough to have support, so getting to and from Ilfracombe and Plymouth was not an issue. For an unsupported trip, one option would be to get a train to Barnstaple and cycle just Barnstaple to Plymouth. Alternatively stay two nights in Barnstaple and use the first day to cycle to Ilfracombe and back. The mapped route is 15 miles for this section, but there is also an alternative waymarked version of Route 27 that takes in the coast at Woolacombe and is about 18 miles, to give a 33 mile round trip from Barnstaple. Okehampton is half-way between Barnstaple and Plymouth, and offers plenty of choice for accommodation. These days it also has a regular train service to Exeter, providing an option to do Barnstaple – Okehampton and Okehampton – Plymouth as day trips, subject to train timings.