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12th September 2023- We are sorry but we are now fully booked until October on all our routes - please contact us for Autumn and 2024 dates

The Tarka Trail Walking Holiday

The Tarka Trail - a week long circular walk through Coast and Moor in North Devon

Boats at Bideford, part of the Tarka Trail in Devon

Update on the Tarka Trail for this season

Update -  Sorry but due to a lack of accommodation on the Exmoor section between Barnstaple and Simonsbath we are currently ONLY offering the Tarka Trail option FROM the Simonsbath area via Lynmouth to Barnstaple which gives around 5 days walking - you can add on further walking days using The Two Moors Way from Simonsbath heading South or as a similar walk consider the Coleridge Way from Nether Stowey over the Quantocks which you can use to Lynmouth before picking up the coastal sections of the Tarka Trail - contact us for ideas and we hope to have the full circular route for The Tarka Trail back in place for 2018 season.  

Watersmeet Lynmouth Exmoor National Park on the Tarka Trail FootpathThe 77 mile Tarka Trail North is a perfect week long combination of some of Devon’s best coast and moorland walking through countryside described in Henry Williamsons classic tale Tarka the Otter and following closely the route taken by Tarka as he made his way through the area. Many of the locations encountered have changed little since the book was writen in the 1920's.

Arriving at the historic market town of Barnstaple with its excellent rail connections you will walk through the river pastures and woodland of North Devon following the River Taw inland before heading into the remote interior and some of the areas least visited paths on a route to the stunning River Bray Valley. 

A steep ascent follows to reach the heights of Exmoor National Park where the route takes in its glorious open spaces and wide skies as you climb to one of the moors highest points at Exe Head.

The Tarka Trail Long Distance Footpath South West Coastal Path SectionDescending on a section of path shared with the Two Moors Way the Tarka Trail then heads down into the gorges and chasms at Lynmouth the “little Switzerland” of North Devon.

You return along the South West Coast Path through highlights such as the Valley of the Rocks, the huge hog backed summit of Great Hangman, the three miles of golden sands of Woolacombe and the unique Braunton Burrows sand dunes the largest and most important area of its type in England with its many rare plants and animals.

The Tarka trail returns along the mighty Taw estuary to Barnstaple after a week of superbly varied walking much of which is on hidden trails and rarely visited locations. If you want a walk where you can escape the crowds and reach the interior of North Devon and Exmoor then this is  one for you.

 

Exmoor National Park Somerset UK crossed on The Tarka Trail Walking Holiday

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