Drakes Trail is part of National Cycle Network Route 27
For the latest information on the status of all NCN routes, local and national, please use the Sustrans online mapping facility.
Sustrans Route 27 Map
The Dartmoor Partnership

The Dartmoor Partnership

For information on what to do and where to stay on Dartmoor visit:
www.dartmoor.co.uk

The dartmoor partnership website promotes many exciting events on the moor including any cycling and walking events organised on Drake's Trail.
Click here for more inforamtion


Welcome to Drake’s Trail

Drake’s Trail is a network of walking and cycling trails. The network has something for all age groups and fitness levels, starting with the new off-road cycling section between Tavistock and Plymouth.

The map shows how the routes currently fit together and how you can make the most of an active break in West Devon.

Drake's Trail in West Devon is a 21 mile cycling and walking route linking Tavistock with Plymouth. This important part of Devon's recreational route network runs through superb countryside with attractive scenery along the western edge of Dartmoor together with much historical and heritage interest.

But the trails aren't just about Drake - they take you through wooded river valleys and across open moorland, up close to fascinating wildlife and history.

New sections of Drake’s Trail include iconic features such as Gem Bridge, replacing an older viaduct, and Grenofen Tunnel. The Trail also includes the long-established Plym Valley Trail, and creates a network of safe and easy cycling and walking opportunities for all the family to enjoy.

The PDF leaflet to the right shows the whole Drake’s Trail route. Further detail about the Drake’s Trail walking and cycling spurs can be found by following ‘the routes’ tab above.

As well as being an attractive family route in its own right, Drake’s Trail is also a key link in a number of national and international cycle routes, and links to these can be found under the ‘Visitor Information’ tab below.

Please note - the off-road section to the South of Clearbrook is steep and uneven for a few hundred meters. This section is unsuitable for wheelchairs, and it is likely that cyclists will need to dismount for this section. Plans are underway to improve the surfacing and gradients of this section.

Drakes Trail Main Leaflet 2012

How to get there

Traveline can help you plan your journey to and around West Devon:

0871 200 22 33
www.traveline.org.uk

Visitor Information

Bike Hire

Walking and cycling opportunities in Devon

International cycle routes The Velodyssey and Tour de Mancheroutes

Tavistock Tourist Information Centre

01822 612938 or
tavistocktic@westdevon.gov.uk

Plymouth Tourist Information Centre

01752 306330 or barbicantic@plymouth.gov.uk

What to do and where to stay on Dartmoor

www.dartmoor.co.uk

Why not sample the range of cycle loops at Saltram and Plymbridge Woods alongside Drake's Trail. For more information visit www.nationaltrust.org/Plymbridge Woods and www.nationaltrust.org/Saltram

You can hire bikes at the following locations on the Drake’s Trail:


Tavistock Cycles
Paddons Row, Tavistock
Tel. 01822 617630

Dartmoor Cycles
Atlas House, Tavistock
Tel. 01822 618178

Leg o Mutton Cycle Hire @ The Cornershop
Yelverton
Tel. 01822 855933
Mob. 07768 974797

Plymouth Bike Hire
Marsh Mills, Plymouth
Tel. 07577 279928

Rockin Bikes
Yelverton
Tel. 01822 258022

Princetown Cycle Hire
Princetown
Tel. 01822 890238

Other cycle hire places and bike shops in the wider area can be found on the website www.cycledevon.info

How to use the podcasts

West Devon was home to renowned seafarer and colourful character Sir Francis Drake. The Drake's Trail routes take you to places related to parts of Drake's life, although that's just the start of it... with Dartmoor on our doorstep and a rich industrial and wartime history, the stories and anecdotes of West Devon could keep you entertained for hours.

And that's where these podcasts come in handy. Thanks to support from the Young Roots Heritage Lottery Fund a group of students from Tavistock College were able to pick through the facts, mths and downright fiction and share with you a tale or two that you may otherwise never have known. The students braved swirling snow, driving rain and howling winds to interview people from Tavistock to Plymouth in an attempt to share with you some of the secrets of the places you are about to pass through.

Visit the route map pages to download the maps which relate to the podcasts (look out for the headphones symbols), and also to download the podcasts to your MP3 player to take with you on the trails. The podcasts can either be dowloaded as one long podcast or several shorter podcasts.

Check your walking or cycling map and when you reach a certain number, stop for a minute or two and listen to the podcast of the same number.

To the North

To the South

Explore the granite way from Lydford:
Click here to download the Route Leaflet

Follow the Drake's Trail all the way to Plymouth Hoe:
Click here to download the Route Map

Further Information

For information regarding trail improvements please call The Devon County Council Customer Service Centre on 0845 155 1004

For any queries not covered by this website or the telphone number above please contact:
info@drakestrail.co.uk

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