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Devon C2C
100 mi / 2-4 days
Easy
🇬🇧 27
2
route reviews
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Coast-to-coast rides are all in the north, right? Wrong. Devon’s own C2C has all the scenery of its northern brethren, and fewer of the hills. Railway paths dive under tunnels and over viaducts restored and new, so that it’s the views that will take your breath away, not the climbs.

The Devon C2C is part of the new Anglo-French circular route, the Tour de Manche. But you can enjoy it as a stand-alone tour, and with easy trains from London, it’s ideal for a long weekend break.

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Basics
Route
Getting there

Basics

How many days?

Three days is an enjoyable, relaxing ride, but you can do it in two, particularly if you miss out the Ilfracombe–Barnstaple section.

What sort of bike?

Whatever you’ve got! The hills aren’t so tough that you’ll struggle on a mountain bike, the surfaces not too rough for a road bike with sturdy tyres. As often with Sustrans routes, a hybrid/cross bike is ideal, but really – anything will cope.

Is it suitable for a first-timer?

It’s perfect. Enough of a challenge to give you a sense of achievement, but never too taxing – and you can boast that you’ve cycled from coast to coast.

Route

Are there any route options?

Yes: there’s an optional upland route (NCN 274) avoiding Tavistock. It’s not one for the beginner, but fit road cyclists will enjoy the challenge. There’s a couple of minor diversions you might choose, too, including within Tavistock itself.

There’s little to choose between north-south and south-north: pick whichever suits your travel plans best.

Getting there

How do you get there?

On the north coast, there are trains to Barnstaple (on a branch from Exeter), but Ilfracombe’s railway fell prey to the unspeakable Dr Beeching. Happily, there’s a bus from Barnstaple to Ilfracombe that carries bikes, though only in the summer months. At other times, you can cycle there and back, get a taxi – or simply skip the first 20 miles.

Plymouth, on the south coast, is on the Great Western main line so there’s no shortage of trains. Great Western Railway now requires that you book your space in advance.

Ride reports & comments

Back to the drawing board

We thought jumping on to our local off road route would be a pleasant journey rolling from to  Meeth to Croyde and good practice for our planned France Tour later…

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Ridden this route? Write a ride report and share your experience…

Thu 20 Apr 2023, 23:17

WARNING - I have just completed the Devon C2C, north to south (20th April 2023). The Drakes Trail is completely closed just below the Grenofen tunnel, south of Tavistock. It was shut for major repairs on the 17th April 2023 for 5 weeks. There are no diversion routes suggested. I had to go down the busy A386 to Yelverton before I found the trail again. Other than that, it was a fantastic trip.