This wonderful cycling and hiking pathway loops for almost 180 miles through the majestic scenery of Devon, from the Atlantic coast where the twin estuaries of the Taw and Torridge rivers meet the sea, down to the slopes of rugged Dartmoor with it’s wild heathland and wind swept granite tors. It passes through the towns of Barnstaple, Lynmouth, Bideford, Torrington, Hatherleigh, and Okehampton as well as linking many rural backwaters along its more countrified stretches.
I chose to walk the stretch from Great Torrington to Meeth, a tiny village about 5 miles southwest of Dolton. The advantage of this stretch is that it follows the old Braunton to Okehampton railway line that was ripped up in the 1960s and is therefore essentially flat. This section measures around 7 miles in length and whilst not superhuman in any degree, I did have the two spaniels to consider and didn’t want to be weighed down with drinking water for the three of us on such a warm day.
I persuaded my friend who I’d gone specifically to see to drive me to Great Torrington so as not to have to worry about how I would retrieve the car from the other end of the walk. I set off in bright sunshine at 10.30am and within ten minutes, all traces of civilisation had effectively vanished. The Trail is named after the character “Tarka”, an otter immortalised in the book by Henry Williamson who grew up close to Bideford and who chose this wonderful scenery as the natural backdrop to Tarka’s adventures.
The pathway here is quite wide and is flanked by festoons of wild flowers; primroses, buttercups, bluebells, snowdrops, mallows, vetches and campions, all straining to catch the sunlight through the dense canopy of oaks, elms and limes that spread overhead like a vast green umbrella. The only sound is that of two dogs making the most of this plethora of new smells, my feet upon the gritty track-bed and the insects buzzing on this most wonderful April day. It’s a heady concoction that assaults the senses for there are sadly too few places like this left in Britain.
We walk on steadily, stopping every 30 minutes or so for a drink and to admire the picturesque countryside all around. The dogs make the most of small brooks that appear now and again and waste no time in plunging in for a quick paddle.
The trees give way to open skies after a couple miles and I’m surprised at how warm it is for April – the mercury has to be pushing 25c which is unheard of at this time of the year. I feel a little sorry for the dogs as at least I can take my shirt off, they sadly, have to plod on but at least I can see that they are having a great time as any spaniel will do when faced with no lead on a rural walk with lots of streams to jump into.
After three hours or so, we start a wide right hand bend and I can see civilisation in the distance through the trees. This is Meeth, end of the line for us and quite fittingly so, for the pathway here runs past the old railway halt, just a single stone platform that still retains it’s tiny waiting room. My pal has kindly got his wife to drive my car over to the village and there it is, in the layby, opposite where the old level crossing gates would once have stood. The dogs have had a great time but are pleased to see the car and the comfortable blanket that awaits then in the back for the ten minute drive back to Dolton.
I too have thoroughly enjoyed every second of this walk; I haven’t seen or passed another living soul but have seen more flowers and trees than I can name, probably 20 or 30 species of birds from Sparrows to Kestrels, a solitary field mouse halfway through the walk and best of all, a sense of being at one with nature in what is increasingly becoming a mad world.
The Tarka Trail is a delight and is well marked for most of it’s length. Some waymarkers are missing in various places but it’s usually easy to determine which way to continue, especially if you have the relevant Ordnance Survey Explorer sheet with you. This has given me a taste for a longer hike and I would love to come back with a week to spare and walk at least another 50 miles of this wonderful pathway that cuts a rural swathe through this beautiful county.