Short answer: The full trail is around thirty miles, but it is an out-and-back on the flat, so most people do a section. Barnstaple to Instow and back is a comfortable family ride; Barnstaple to Bideford is the classic half day.
The traffic-free section runs around thirty miles, but very few people ride or walk the lot. Because it is flat, paved and an out-and-back, you turn round whenever you have had enough — which is the point of it.
It is a former railway line, so it is flat and paved for its whole length, with benches throughout and no traffic at all. That makes it one of the few genuinely wheelchair-accessible long walks in Devon, and an easy first bike ride for children.
It also means no mud, however wet it has been — which matters in a Devon winter.
On foot, reckon on the usual three miles an hour and plan an out-and-back you are happy with. By bike, the Barnstaple to Bideford stretch is comfortable inside an hour each way at an easy pace.
Available at the Barnstaple end and at Bideford. Worth booking ahead in school holidays.
Barnstaple is the end of the Tarka Line from Exeter, and the trail starts at the station. It is the best car-free day out in north Devon.
The Boathouse at Instow faces the estuary and is the best-loved pub in the area. Victoria Park in Bideford has a big free playground by the quay.
Pick a town and plan the day around who's with you.
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