THE OLD TAW VALE RAILWAY TRACK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL

he Taw Vale Railway opened in 1848 from Barnstaple to Fremington Wharf for horse-drawn coal and other goods traffic and was opened to passenger trains when the Extension Railway reached Bideford by way of Instow in 1855.

is now

The Tarka Trail, over 180 miles in length taking a looping route through North and Mid Devon, from the rugged Atlantic Coast, the Estuaries of the Two Rivers of Tarka the Otter fame, the Rivers Taw and Torridge through rural Devon Countryside onto the Northern Slopes of Dartmoor, and the source of the River Taw. The Trail between Barnstaple, down the Taw, upriver to Bideford, following the Torridge to Torrington takes the route of a disused railway line and is particularly suited for both cyclists and walkers.