Short answer: The Tarka Trail is a paved, level, traffic-free former railway running along the Taw and Torridge estuaries. Start at Barnstaple or Bideford, both of which have cycle hire. It genuinely suits wheelchairs and buggies as well as bikes, with benches and refreshment stops throughout.
The Tarka Trail is a former railway line converted into a walking and cycling route, running along the estuaries of the Taw and the Torridge. The traffic-free section is the part that matters: paved, level, benched, and with no cars on it at all.
That combination is rarer than it should be. Most Devon walking involves a gradient at some point. This does not, which is why it works with children on their first bikes, with buggies, and with wheelchairs — reviewers specifically flag it as good if you are disabled or with children.
Barnstaple is the northern end and the easiest starting point — it is the terminus of the Tarka Line train from Exeter, so you can arrive without a car, and there is cycle hire at the town end. Bideford is the other main access point, with the Railway Heritage Centre on the trail itself where you can get a coffee in a restored railway carriage.
Instow sits between the two with a sandy beach and the Boathouse pub facing the estuary, which makes it the natural halfway target. Appledore is just across the water.
You do not have to do the lot. The full route runs roughly thirty miles, but the point of a flat out-and-back is that you turn round whenever the smallest member of the party has had enough. Barnstaple to Instow and back is a comfortable family ride with a pub at the turning point.
Northam Burrows Country Park and Braunton Burrows are close to the southern and northern ends respectively. Bideford also has The Big Sheep, The Milky Way and the region's best soft play if the weather turns.
Pick a town and plan the day around who's with you.
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