This cycle route explores the back lanes between Eggesford and Lapford. I used an eBike to help me up the hills. You can hire an eBike from Barnstaple or Exeter and catch the hourly Tarka Line trains to Eggesford. You don't have to reseve a bike space and all of the trains stop at Eggesford.
Try the route clockwise or anti-clockwise and enjoy the ever-changing views of the Mid-Devon countryside. The clockwise route gives you better views of Dartmoor as you
descend towards Lapford. I prefer the anti-clockwise route as the steepest hill, from Hawkridge Bridge to Clotworthy Farm, becomes downhill rather than uphill.
This is also a great area for walking. The Tarka Trail footpath head south from Eggesford to North Tawton and the Ridge and Valley Walk runs east to Witheridge or north to Chulmleigh. The scattered plantations of Eggesford Forest are Access Land and include Flashdown Plantation where Lord Clinton and his workers planted the first Forestry Commission trees in 1919.
The scenery is beautiful. The waters of the Taw and Yeo push northwards through higher ground, carving a landscape of flat valleys with steep, often wooded slopes. Buzzards circle over the fields and Skylarks throw their liquid melodies on sunny days. Villages perch above the valley, their church towers serving as waypoints for the traveller.
This route explores the Witheridge and Rackenford Moor, Taw Valley, High Taw Farmland and High Culm Ridges Devon Character Areas.
Map designed by Grant Sherman from OpenStreetMap data
Copyright OpenStreetMap contributors https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=14/50.8784/-3.8327
Ride with GPS https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43542830 clockwise
Strava https://www.strava.com/routes/3112038544988629430 clockwise
Ride with GPS https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43557196 anti-clockwise
Strava https://www.strava.com/routes/3112039644317681768 anti-clockwise
Eggesford Railway Station to Chawleigh
2.3 miles, 325ft climbed
Chawleigh to Lapford
via Labbett's Cross 3.6 miles, 225ft climbed
Lapford to Nymet Rowland
1.8 miles, 145ft climbed
Nymet Rowland to Eggesford
via Eggesford Fourways 3.3 miles, 310ft climbed
Devon Character Areas
DCA - Witheridge and Rackenford Moor
An elevated, open landscape with long views to Dartmoor and/or to Exmoor. Within the patchwork of pastoral fields are extensive areas of rough Culm grassland and heathland. These Culm ‘moors’ have a strong sense of remoteness, even wildness, which is accentuated by the relative lack of settlement and the wind-sculpted trees and hedgerows; they give an impression of how large areas of Devon might have looked before agricultural improvements such as drainage, ploughing and fertilizers. The presence in the landscape of numerous clusters of prehistoric barrows adds to this sense of history and changelessness. The strong textures of plantations, beech hedgerows, heathland and grasses contrast with the smooth improved agricultural land which surrounds them. Patches of colour in the landscape change with the seasons – golden, brown and green grasses, purple heather and bright yellow gorse.
This area comprises elevated land between the Taw Valley (to the west) and the Cruwys Morchard Wooded and Farmed Valleys and the Exe Valley (to the east). To the north is a gradual transition into the South Molton Farmland, and to the south a gradual transition to the lower and more intensively-farmed Crediton Rolling Farmlands.
https://www.devon.gov.uk/planning/north-devon-area/witheridge-and-rackenford-moor
DCA - Taw Valley
This is an intricate, complex and varied landscape within a dramatic valley, which contrasts with the surrounding open, elevated farmland. Woodland and slopes combine with bends and spurs in the valley to hide views onward and create constant surprises. Tightly wooded sections unexpectedly open out to display wide vistas across the valley. Around Eggesford, the steep valley sides and mixture of broadleaved and coniferous woodland is evocative of continental Europe. Elsewhere, tranquil parkland gives the valley a soothing atmosphere.
This area comprises the main valley of the River Taw, plus its tributary valleys, including the River Bray, River Mole, Crooked Oak Stream, and Mully Brook. The area forms a rough ‘T’ Shape, surrounded by areas of higher land. The Codden Hill and Wooded Estates and the South Molton Farmland lie to the north, Witheridge and Rackenford Moor to the east and the High Culm Ridges to the west. To the south is the High Taw Farmland.
https://www.devon.gov.uk/planning/north-devon-area/taw-valley
Centred on a watershed in the very heart of Devon at the junction of numerous character areas, this typical Devon farmed landscape comprises lush green pastoral farmland, visually dominated by the brooding mass of Dartmoor to the south. Rounded hills covered in hedged fields are separated by secretive valleys where rivers meander along their tree-lined courses. There is a strong perception of time-depth, with the landscape reflecting thousands of years of human history from the Neolithic to the present day. The landscape presents a rich tapestry of medieval features, including churches, villages, farms, field boundaries and narrow lanes with ancient wayside crosses.
This is an extensive area of undulating farmland between Dartmoor and the Taw and Torridge Valleys. The town of Okehampton lies to the south-west of the area. To the south is a narrow band of the East Dartmoor Moorland Fringes, with Dartmoor beyond. To the west (beyond the Okemont River) are the Broadbury Ridges and High Torridge Culm Plateau. To the north the area merges with the Torridge Valley, the High Culm Ridges and the Taw Valley; while to the east there is a gradual transition to the Crediton Rolling Farmlands, the Yeo, Culm and Exe Lowlands and the Yeo Upland and Slopes.
https://www.devon.gov.uk/planning/west-devon-area/high-taw-farmland
An open, elevated landscape, where the long views out make an important contribution to the sense of place. The high land of Exmoor (to the north) and Dartmoor (to the south) provide orientation, and a backdrop of seasonally-changing colour. In the north, views out to sea and across the north Devon coast lend a strong maritime influence. Views across and into the neighbouring Taw and Torridge valleys emphasise the contrast between this open farmland and the wooded, enclosed and intimate valley landscapes on either side. Skylines are very important, with clumps of trees and square church towers acting as prominent features and landscape focal points. Woodland and occasional patches of unimproved grassland contribute to the seasonally-changing colour and texture of the landscape.
This long, narrow area comprises the ridges of high land between the Taw Valley (to the east) and the Torridge Valley (to the west). To the north is the lower-lying Taw-Torridge Estuary, and to the south is a gradual transition to the open inland plateau of the High Taw Farmland.
https://www.devon.gov.uk/planning/torridge-area/high-culm-ridges
