Description
Tarka Trail view looking across the Iron Bridge near the Puffing Billy in Great Torrington. This part of the pathway leads inland towards Yarde Cottages and on to Merton. After the passenger service closed the line was still used to carry clay from the large quarry outside Merton to the port of Bideford. This section of the Tarka Trail is near Great Torrington and offers good views. The Great Torrington Railway Station is now the home of the Puffing Billy and the Tarka Valley Railway. This is one of the main access points for the Tarka Trail and Rolle Bridge is the first bridge you pass under heading towards Watergate and Meeth (distance; 18km / 11miles). The Tarka Trail covers a distance of 180 miles (290 km), following a figure-of-eight route through the North Devon countryside; setting for the fictional ‘Tarka the Otter’ in Henry Williamson’s book. The 31mile (48km) section from Braunton to Meeth is level and mainly tarmacked being built on the disused Railway line. The river Torridge which flows alongside starts its life on Woolley Moors between Bradworthy and Morwenstow. After completing a long loop, it meets the Taw at Appledore then flows out into the Bristol Channel. It is famous for its setting in ‘Tarka the Otter’ by Henry Williamson and more lately in ‘Flow’ a novel for young adults by John Insull.