I ought to begin by saying that the West Country Way is hardly the most direct or quickest way of cycling to Devon and Cornwall. If you ride the West Country Way, you should do so as an end in itself, go wherever it leads you, and take however long it takes. The strip map format of the Sustrans map hides the winding nature of the route (this map shows just how indirect it is), and there are times when you'll cycle many miles to find that the proverbial crow has got there a lot sooner than you. If you accept the ride on this basis, you'll enjoy it; if not, you'll find yourself getting very frustrated.
Note: you can order the new version of the West Country Way map through the link at the bottom of this page click on the map cover. Recent changes which have been made to the route can be found here. A guide book, The Ultimate West Country Way Guide, although out of print, may still be available in some shops.
The West Country Way branches off the Bristol & Bath Railway Path at Saltford. There is a pub immediately next to the junction and it's far too tempting, especially on a hot day. I was tempted and indulged in a pint in its garden, where I met an Australian cyclist who had just arrived from Padstow and was headed for London. We swapped notes. Then I came out of the pub to find that I had a flat tyre. It turned out that the rose bush I'd backed into two days before had finally wreaked its revenge!
The climbing begins as soon as you leave Saltford. Actually, it's more a case of climb and down a bit, climb and down a bit, climb and down a bit, before finally tackling the big climb over the Mendips. It's intended that route 3 will one day divide round the Chew Valley Lake, with the western branch heading directly for Bristol. They will join up just after East Harptree, where the climbing begins in earnest.
The route takes a long detour across the top of the Mendips, including nearly a mile of very rough track through an area which was once mined by the Romans for a variety of valuable minerals, including silver and lead. The ground is still pockmarked by the remains of their diggings. You'll have to take this detour if you want your route card stamped the stamping point at Charterhouse is at its farthest point. Fortunately, Charterhouse marks the summit of the climb, and from there it's a gentle run to the pretty little village of Priddy (where there is a Folk Fayre each July and a Sheep fair in August), followed by a swift run down hill to Wells, passing Wookey Hole, with its famous caves and papermill.
Wells, one of the country's smallest cities, is dominated by its magnificent cathedral. The city's name derives from the springs which rise in the gardens of the Bishop's Palace, the streams from which flow along the sides of the main street. The swans on the moat around the Bishop's Palace have been trained to ring a bell hanging from the gatehouse at feeding time. In response to this a window overlooking the moat is opened and food thrown to them.
It was pouring with rain as I set off next morning. I'd promised myself an early start but after a few yards I realised I had another flat tyre. By now I was out of spare inner tubes, so I had to wait for the local bike shop to open to get some more, but they very kindly offered to fit one for me while I had a look round the city. Fortunately the rain was easing off by the time I went back to collect the bike and I set off into pleasant sunshine.
From Wells I set off on a pleasant ride across the levels to Glastonbury. Back then it involved a short stretch on the A39, which was a little bit too busy for comfort, but a cycle path has now been provided beside the road. The route also went along a cycle lane beside the Glastonbury bypass, virtually missing the town centre, but I gave this a miss and took the old road straight into the town. There is now an alternative, but longer, route which passes the foot of Glastonbury Tor.
I was disappointed by Glastonbury. Any view of the Abbey is hidden away by a new entrance block (a "visitor centre") with a charge to get in and the whole town had a bit of a feel of a rip-off. A rather curious form of New Age commercialism, a merger of magic, mysticism, and money. Sorry, but it just gave me that impression. Lots of other people seemed to be enjoying it though.
Leaving Glastonbury a new length of the cycle route had just been opened, using part of the old railway line which has been converted into a Willow Walk. The route from this point on has changed since I rode it. In fact, there are now two new routes that weren't there before. One now continues along the old railway, then follows a lane into Shapwick. The other sticks to the lanes through Ashcott, passing some of the peat workings. Gardeners who use peat should be forced to see how this beautiful countryside is being wrecked to keep them supplied.
Back in 1999 the Sustrans route used a short length of the busy A361 before heading across the King's Sedgemoor to Chedzoy, close to the site of the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685. Now the West Country Way follows the northern edge of the Polden Hills to Cossington, where it joins a long closed railway line to pass under the A39 and into Bawdrip. It's intended to create a new link across the fields to Chedzoy, but for the time being it goes the long road way round, including half a mile on the A39.
To be honest, once you're on the main road you might as well continue on it into Bridgwater, but if you follow the proper route you'll approach Bridgwater along the banks of the River Parrett and cross the railway line by a footbridge, which involves carrying your bike up and down the steps. Once you're over this obstacle you can either continue beside the river into the town or you can bypass the town completely. I have to say that I found the entry into the town very depressing and the centre of it only marginally less so. Once a busy port, it looks like a place that's been passed by. (Even though my bike came from there!)
The way out of town is along the towpath of the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal. I recently read an account of a journey made along this cycle route in 2000, the year after my trip. Incredibly, the couple involved were told by Sustrans that they should avoid this towpath stretch because of the narrow barriers and catch the train from Bridgwater to Taunton instead! The barriers were certainly tight, but I got through. In 1999 the towpath surface was quite decent, but a return visit three years later found that it had become rough in places.
An unusual feature of the canal is the model of the solar system which is set out, in exact scale, along its route. Each of the planets is shown in its relative position by stainless steel balls of varying size, as is the sun by an enormous globe of stone.
The canal takes the West Country Way right into the heart of Taunton, where I called in at the Bike Shop to get by route card stamped. (It has lock-up facilities if you fancy an unencumbered look round the town.) The town centre is pleasant enough, although past experience has put me off some of the outskirts. The route leaves Taunton on the A38 but soon starts a complicated meander through the country lanes, bypassing Wellington. I had to refer to the map all the time, and that made for slow progress.
From Langford Budville there's a choice of routes to the west. The main route goes via Tiverton, but there's the alternative of a short cut through the lanes to Bampton.
Near Greenham the main route joins the towpath of the Grand Western Canal, all that remains of a scheme to link the English and Bristol Channels by water. It's now owned by Devon County Council, who have restored it. The towpath was fine for the first half mile, but after that it degenerated into a slow grassy track and, as the canal seemed rather gloomy, I decided to abandon it for a parallel road into Sampford Peverell, where I found a B&B for the night.
From Sampford Peverell the route follows some delightful lanes through Halberton before joining the course of the old railway line into Tiverton. The last engine which worked on it, nicknamed the "Tivvy Bumper", is in the town's excellent museum. Beyond Tiverton the route passes through the grounds of the National Trust's Knightshayes Court. The entrance drive is a cyclist's delight, but the exit is along an extremely rough and sometimes steep track. I would strongly advise taking the diversionary route around the estate.
From Tiverton the countryside becomes more hilly as it heads towards Bampton, a lovely little country town, but one which seemed to have a lot of properties up for sale. From Bampton the route takes a rather convoluted and hilly route to Morebath; despite which, it still has to use a mile or so of B-road. I opted instead for the rather more direct and perfectly agreeable B3190. This parallels the old railway route which Sustrans hopes to take over in due course. Oddly enough, I encountered more traffic on the narrow lanes than on this stretch of B-road, and because it was broader I felt a lot safer there as I was less likely to meet a car coming hurtling round a blind bend. From Brushford to Dulverton the route follows the B3223, pending the building of a riverside path, but I had no problems with it.
I stopped for a bit of lunch and a drink at Dulverton. As I sat there a group of mountain bikers skidded to a halt in the car park. We got chatting and one of them took a picture for me, posed against the background of the old bridge. It was only as they were leaving that I realised that one of them had an artificial leg, which suddenly made my endeavours seem quite puny!
Before leaving myself, I took a quick look at the map, but I had great difficulty trying to match it to the actual ground. The map seemed to show my onward route as branching off immediately opposite the far end of the bridge, but opposite the far end of the bridge was an almost vertical hillside. It just didn't seem to work out, so in the end I wandered across the bridge to take a look, and there was a small turning, heading straight up the hillside!
Halfway up the half-mile struggle I passed a couple who were doing the ride the other way on Moulton bikes, and enjoying the downhill run, and then, shortly before the top, I pulled in to allow a Land Rover to pass me. As it passed the driver called out "You're just too early. We're building a rest bench but it won't be finished for a couple of days". Eventually I reached the top and it was more than worth it. The route takes a tiny lane across open moorland and you're entirely alone except for a few animals, the birds, and the barrows of the ancient dead. There's nothing else around, and not a sound.
Just off the route in the middle of this deserted landscape is the Sportsman Inn, so remote that it has to generate its own electricity. I stopped for a coffee, and while I was there the rain began to fall. It had cleared by the time I was ready to leave, but the respite was only short. As I approached Kinsford Gate I caught a glimpse of the sea bathed in sunlight far below, and I began to feel quite emotional at the idea of having crossed the country from the east coast to the west under my own power. But my sense of achievement was soon overtaken by the threat of heavy, black rain clouds over distant Dartmoor. Within minutes the clouds were above me and the heavens opened, the drops of rain hitting the ground and bouncing back off it. There was no shelter and, like the ponies, I just had to get wet.
I'd been looking forward to a downhill run all the way to the coast, but I'd forgotten the final climb onto Bratton Down. I was tempted to save a mile or more by using the the A399 but it was busy with traffic so I stuck with the official route. However, when I got to the outskirts of Barnstaple I decided that the circuitous loop through the housing estates definitely deserved a miss, and I headed straight on down the hill into the town centre and across the bridge over the River Taw.
I called into the Leisure Centre to get my card stamped (and a little warmth), then set off along the Tarka Trail on the old railway line to Bideford. Fortunately the rain had stopped and the clouds cleared just in time for a beautiful, if cool, sunset over the river estuary.
From Barnstaple to Sheepwash the West Country Way shares its route with the Devon Coast to Coast route, which I journeyed on in September 2003. To view the description of this part of the route from that later journey, click here and afterwards press your browser's back button to return here.
I have decidedly mixed feelings about this section of the Tarka Trail. It's a wonderful facility for cyclists and walkers, but it would be much better if the railway extended another 9 miles to serve Instow and Bideford. Sadly, I'm old enough to remember when trains (and steam-hauled ones at that) ran on this section of line. Some very short sections of the line have been restored at both Instow and Bideford stations by a very active local group which help to keep memories of those days alive.
I spent the night with some friends in Bideford and when I awoke the next morning it was pouring with rain again. However, by the time I'd had a look round the old station it had eased again, but as I made my way down to Torrington it began again in earnest. The effect of the previous day's torrential rain could be judged by the incredibly muddy water in the River Torridge, which the route crosses a few times, beginning with the Landcross viaduct just south of Bideford and followed by three bridges in quick succession just before Torrington.
The former Torrington Station is a long way from (and below) the town, so I continued on down the Tarka Trail, crossing the low but lengthy Torrington viaduct just beyond the station. The next section of the old railway line was built as the grandly-named North Devon & Cornwall Junction Light Railway. It was built as late as 1925 to link Torrington with Halwill Junction, and for the first part of its course it replaced a narrow gauge mineral railway that served the china clay works south of Torrington.
It follows a very winding, rural course and is relatively steeply graded if you're heading south you have to work quite hard as you climb to the summit near Yarde, while those going the other way are able to freewheel at speed.
Most of the trains along here included both goods wagons and passenger carriages. Ordinary passengers were few and far between and were invariably outnumbered by the train crew, though a few workers joined the trains at the now-overgrown tiny halts Watergate, Yarde, and Dunsbear on their way to the china clay works further on down the line. China clay trains continued to use the line until the early 1980s, many years after its passenger services succumbed to Dr Beeching.
The West Country Way leaves the Tarka Trail at the site of the old Petrockstow station and climbs the hill to the village of that name. The steady rain that had been my lot all the way from Bideford decided to become relentless and torrential instead. I made my way on to the lovely little village of Sheepwash and staggered into the pub, drenched to the skin, water running off me. Fortunately the floor was flagstones, so I didn't have to worry about making it wet!
Refreshed, with some warm food inside me, and the rain having eased considerably, I set off again for Black Torrington. The route beyond Black Torrington is fairly hilly and, as I knew from previous experience, rather pot-holed and liable to flooding,so in the circumstances I decided to give it a miss and diverted onto the A3072 for the journey into the market town of Holsworthy. I was starting to feel quite tired and cold, but after the final climb of the day into and out of the Derriton valley just outside Holsworthy (which the cycle route now crosses on the old railway viaduct) the route along the deserted lanes through Pyworthy was gentle cycling. At
Bridgerule I passed the 350-mile mark of my ride from London and crossed the River Tamar into
more of Devon! This is the only place where the west bank of the river isn't in Cornwall.
And so, finally, through Marhamchurch and into Bude for my final overnight stop. When I arrived in the town the last stretch of the ride was on a fairly busy main road but this has now been replaced by a traffic-free run along the last mile of the town's former railway.
I'd arranged to stay for the following week in Bude, so next morning I was able to abandon most of my luggage and travel lightly-loaded for the rest of the journey to Padstow. Which was just as well, as I'd decided to take the coastal route south of Bude. The undulating road past Widemouth Bay helped to warm my legs up for what was to come, but it was to no avail. The 1 in 3 hills up totally defeated me, and I decided that 1 in 3 was far too steep to cycle down, so I walked that one as well! However, once the final hill was done with it was a fairly level ride for the next few miles.
If you don't like the sound of those hills, there's an alternative inland route through Week St Mary, a route which I've used on two of my End to End journeys.
Beyond Tregune the route begins to climb towards Bodmin Moor. There's quite a sharp pull up from Trelash, where the inland route rejoins, to Hallworthy, then a dip at Tremail is followed by a final climb onto the moor at Davidstow. If you've ever seen packets of Davidstow cheese and wondered about the idyllic surroundings in which it's made, forget it. It's made in an ultra-modern factory which looks totally out of place in the rural landscape, but I suppose it brings valuable jobs to the area.
Davidstow's other bizarre feature is the disused World War II airfield. It is said that the US Air Force was looking for a suitable flat area of land to build a bomber airbase and discovered one near Davidstow. Unfortunately they didn't find out about the poor weather that is all too common in these parts, and it was a rare mission on which the bombers were able both to take off from and land back at the airfield. It closed after just three years. The route crosses the old runways and then turns off onto a road that's marked out along the middle of a taxiway!
From Davidstow the route winds its way across Bodmin Moor, with only a few bumps and dips, and none of those very troublesome. It passes Crowdy reservoir and the infamous water treatment works where incorrectly-used chemicals poisoned large numbers of people in nearby Camelford. Rough Tor and the more distant Brown Willy are the highest points in Cornwall; it's well worth taking the mile or so diversion to the end of the Rough Tor road, but the summit of the Tor is another mile on foot across the moor (and a good bit higher up!).
From this point on the locals were none too keen on having cycle route signposts erected and the first time I did it a map and map reading skills were essential, although the simple rule of thumb is to keep to the edge of the moor. Just don't wander off onto one of the dead-end lanes. Signs have since been put up in a few places and directions have been painted on the road at some key junctions. The original route continued across the edge of the moor through Blisland but there is now the alternative of a route via St Breward with a lovely fast run downhill into the Camel Valley. Both moorland villages have pubs the Blisland Inn and St Brewards' Old Inn which are well worth visiting.
The route descends from the moor into the valley of the River Camel and joins the famous Camel Trail for its final run to Padstow. The Camel Trail occupies the trackbed of much of the one-time Bodmin & Wadebridge Railway, opened in 1834, from Bodmin to Padstow via Wadebridge and the branch to Wenford Bridge. Opened in stages since 1980 the trail is used by walkers, cyclists, and horse riders, and much of it is accessible to those in wheelchairs.
The section from Wenford Bridge twists and turns its way through the woods beside the River Camel down a noticeable gradient. At several of the old level crossings, including the one at Hellandbridge where there was only just room for trains to squeeze between the cottages, the rails can still be seen in the surface of the road. This part of the Trail is quieter than the rest and it can only be described as spectacularly beautiful.
The old railway crossed the busy A389 road at the foot of a steep hill, just short of Dunmere Junction. The cycle route has been diverted slightly to avoid this dangerous crossing and instead joins the old Bodmin part of the line, which passes underneath the main road. A short distance beyond Dunmere Junction is Boscarne Junction, terminus for the time being of the preserved Bodmin & Wenford Railway's line from the main line at Bodmin Parkway.
Beyond the buffer stops of the railway are two level crossings in quick succession, with the old Nantstallon Halt just before the second of them. A mile and a half further on is the concrete platform of Grogley Halt, where the Ruthern Bridge branch once diverged. A short while after comes Shooting Range Platform, and then the Trail crosses the river, passes the spot marked by a milepost where the North Cornwall Railway once made a junction, and comes to a temporary end at the approach to Wadebridge. For the rest of the way into the town it follows a road built on the old railway line. The old station building survives as the John Betjeman Centre and the goods shed has been converted into the Betty Fisher Centre for community projects. The new housing estate opposite the station was once the site of the second platform and the engine shed, and the Co-op stands where the original sand dock used to be. When I visited here not long after the railway was demolished, there were still two ancient carriage bodies on the site, offering shelter to countless wild cats.
The route continues through the town centre and out on a road which leads past the quayside industrial area and then under the new bypass viaduct. From here on the Trail hugs the river's edge, offering ever-broadening views of the estuary. John Betjeman, who regularly holidayed here as a child, described this as "The most beautiful train journey I know".
About a mile or so beyond the viaduct the Trail passes the desolate landscape of the Camel Quarry. In the 17th and 18th centuries this was a hive of activity, one million slates a year being produced at times, all of them shipped out from the quays which used to line the river's edge.
Beyond the quarry the Trail crosses the end of Pinkson Creek on an embankment, with only a small opening to allow the tide into the creek. On the far bank of the river is the prominent mound of Cant Hill.
A little further along the Trail crosses the end of Oldtown Cove, and then as it rounds the headland the view of the estuary expands and Padstow comes into sight in the distance, with the Iron Bridge over Little Petherick Creek, since restored to celebrate its centenary, just ahead. If you've timed your journey right the estuary will be full of sunlit golden sand.
Then it's over the bridge and round the foot of Dennis Hill, over the end of Dennis Cove, and the Trail comes to a sudden end as it runs onto the quayside at Padstow. The old station is surrounded by a car and coach park now, but the platform remains, and the imagination doesn't need to be stretched too far to see the Atlantic Coast Express pulled up alongside the platform at the end of its 259-mile journey from London. Funny that! It's taken me nearly 404 miles to travel all the way by Sustrans' routes. But I'm there at last!
As a route for some aimless meandering through the West Country on a bike, the West Country Way is as good as any, but if you want a route that'll get you from A to B in a reasonable time and distance, think again. The WCW takes 250 long-winded miles to get from Bath and Bristol to Padstow.
Most parts of the route are excellent, and I'd certainly recommend them if you happen to be passing that way. I really enjoy the route from Holsworthy to Bodmin and I used it on two of my End to End journeys because it happened to fit in. It's quiet, it's scenic, and for Devon and Cornwall it's not overly hilly. But the key words are if you happen to be passing that way. The route over Exmoor is superb and I like the Tarka Trial, but if I wanted to travel the 45 miles from Tiverton to Holsworthy, I probably wouldn't choose to take an 85 mile detour via Barnstaple.
The signing of the route is generally good, although it's annoying when the alternative routes, such as that via Week St Mary, are almost devoid of signs. And there are some stretches where the route winds through country lanes, such as between Taunton and Sampford Peverell, where more positive signing would be helpful to assure you that you're on the right route.
Sustrans' horror of using A- and B-roads manifests itself in a few silly situations. To avoid using two miles of the B3190 between Bampton and Morebath, for example, the route takes a detour of 3½ miles including 1½ miles on other B-roads! And as I found, narrow country lanes can sometimes be busier and more dangerous than a B-road of decent width.
The quality of some of the off-road sections of route is poor. The Bridgwater & Taunton Canal towpath was fine back in 1999 but since then it has deteriorated in places, and I've mentioned how Sustrans themselves advised against using it with a loaded touring bike because of the narrow width of the barriers. On the Grand Western Canal the towpath is mostly a narrow trodden path through the grass, fine for a gentle pootle, not so good for touring.
The Tarka Trail and the Camel Trail are in fairly good condition, although neither are tarred and rough spots and holes appear from time to time, especially on the more heavily used parts. The unsealed surface means that bikes can become caked in dust in dry conditions or covered in slurry when it's wet. (Work has started to upgrade the surface of the Tarka Trail.) The Camel Trail between Wenford Bridge and Bodmin is fairly quiet and in places the undergrowth is beginning to crowd in. Both of these trails will need considerable amounts of on-going maintenance and I worry what will happen if or when the local councils face really tough spending decisions in the future.
You can either follow through the pages in sequence or go back to pick another route from the list of the NCN routes Ive used.
Updated: 1 November 2004
Minor updates: 15 August 2006