Cycling trails of Devon

I couldn’t see a great deal to do with cycling trails in and around south Devon, so I thought I’d post my travels here. I have just got back into the hobby after a 10 year break and a 20 year break from doing anything serious. The bike I now use I built back in 1995 from parts and has evolved over 15 years since then.

Stover Trail, Route 28

I dug out the bike, replaced the perishables, brake cables, kitted up with some storage (same for my wife’s hybrid Halfords special tank) and off we went. Having done a little homework on the trail (needed something easy for me as I am recovering from a tendon injury in my ankle, and my wife hasn’t cycled for 20 years) we went for a nice easy flat cycle trail that forms part of the route 28 cycle trail through Newton Abbot. We hopped on at Tuckers Maltings, near the quay, and preceded along the way.



The route passes along mostly dedicated off road cycle paths that follow rivers and along old railway track beds in places, so is very forgiving and very easy to do. The route is quite lush and green and about half way there is the remains of the Dartmoor granite railway, this also forms the ‘Templer Way’ from Dartmoor to Newton Abbot.



You pass through Teigngrace and eventually get to the Plymouth/Exeter A38 dual carriageway. A nice new bridge has been erected a few years ago and makes riding over very easy, shared with walkers and horses too.

Next comes a nice cruise into Bovey Tracey, we flew down the hill (road) after the end of the off road section, and stopped at a great cafe called ‘Cafe 360’. Literally at the end of the main road on the cycle route. This cafe welcomes you, your bike and gear inside and offers hot snacks and drinks in nice surroundings, definely worth a visit!

We then returned back to Newton Abbot, slightly downhill, little faster and more confident. The views are beautiful, the ride very easy and plenty of other riders to acknowledge. I’d say more suited to a hybrid/XC bike, although I did see road bikes on the route.

Total distance, out and back 13.5 miles with 100 feet of elevation from Newton Abbot to Bovey Tracey.

More info on the trail;

https://www.exploredevon.info/activitie ... ver-trail/

Link to a download leaflet for the map and basic info;

https://devoncc.sharepoint.com/sites/Pu ... faa4a878ed

Great cafe, Cafe 360 in Bovey Tracey.

https://www.cafe3sixty.co.uk/

Re:

Excellent info. A ‘sticky’ Trail/Rides section like this would be useful on here. Fingers crossed the Cycling powers that be get us open access to the countryside. Incentivising farmers to open up and maintain joined up trails would transform mountainbiking in this country, as it did for cycling in the 1930s, before car ownership was common.

Re:

Very useful to know as I'm planning to go bikepacking next year (living my dreams one year at a time - doing a 24hr race this year) and being in Cornwall I was hoping to go adventuring into Devon. Will have to remember this one.

Quantocks in Somerset can't be ignored if you're in the South West.

Re: Re:

M-Power":26ljnnk3 said:

Excellent info. A ‘sticky’ Trail/Rides section like this would be useful on here. Fingers crossed the Cycling powers that be get us open access to the countryside. Incentivising farmers to open up and maintain joined up trails would transform mountainbiking in this country, as it did for cycling in the 1930s, before car ownership was common.

Click to expand...

I was thinking a sticky section would be good for this kind of thing. I am planning to travel along my local routes in south Devon and post about them on my thread so that anyone not from the area knows what they are in for.

This trail was only able to be completed in the past 3/4 years, some of the paths weren’t there and what was, was a very narrow single person trail. The bridge over the dual carriageway was certainly finished 4 years ago. I want to add more photos and there are places you can fork off of this route to visit. To name one, there is Stover Park near Bovey Tracey. A nice trundle around a lake/nature reserve, all very family friendly.

MarinMartin":26ljnnk3 said:

Very useful to know as I'm planning to go bikepacking next year (living my dreams one year at a time - doing a 24hr race this year) and being in Cornwall I was hoping to go adventuring into Devon. Will have to remember this one.

Click to expand...

This trail is probably only 20/30 miles from Cornwall and I’m sure there is a cycle route from Cornwall into this one. This is all new to me and am yet to explore that avenue. If you do plan on running this route, give me a shout. It’s a very, very easy, flat, family friendly trail.

minor_LEGEND":26ljnnk3 said:

Quantocks in Somerset can't be ignored if you're in the South West.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip I haven’t researched that far afield as yet. Looking at Tarka trail, Dartmoor way and Exe estuary trail next.

minor_LEGEND":66ntf6sr said:

Quantocks in Somerset can't be ignored if you're in the South West.

Click to expand...

Absolutely! I bet it’s a little different these days. Been longer than I care to remember since I was there

Wow, there's a blast from the past. I grew up around there and that's where I got into cycling in the first place.

Lustleigh Cleave has some excellent bridleways for mountain biking and there's a sneaky route you can do up over Haytor if you're feeling a bit more ambitious.

Nice post. Always useful to hear about new routes and places.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=258143

Stick it here too.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=303296

Stover Park extension of Route 28

At the Heathfield end of Route 28 there is a lake with a cycle path around it, Stover Park.



My daughter and I drove out to the park last week and took her new bike out for its first spin. The Park is relatively flat, all off road and I’d suggest not for anything lighter duty than a rigid mtb, road bikes are going to struggle. There is plenty of nature watching areas to view and plenty of info boards dotted about with plant and wildlife information. There are several alternative routes and ‘off piste’ paths to explore, but as long as you keep the lake on your left (or right depending on which way round you go), you cannot go too far wrong.

Veiw from the bird watch hut approximately halfway around



The whole route is approximately a mile and a half around and is a change of scenery from if traveling along Route 28. There are areas with play apparatus (nice wooden equipment) and areas of grass and benches to enjoy a break.

My daughter and our rides outside the bird watch hut



If you travel here by car for just a park ride, be prepared with some car park change. My advice would be to park in Bovey Tracey and ride along Route 28 to Stover Park. That way you save the parking fees and really notice how beautiful and unspoiled the park scenery is from the nearby urban environment.

Link to the park website:

https://new.devon.gov.uk/stovercountrypark/

Location:

Stover Country Park
Newton Abbot TQ12 6QG
01626 835236
https://goo.gl/maps/txgfYuVT2no