Cycling the Devon Coast to Coast

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Looking for a family cycling challenge that’s a step up from a day ride?

Cycle Sprog guest author Claire and her eight-year-old son Oliver took on the Devon Coast-to-Coast, riding 167km from Ilfracombe to Plymouth over three days - in the middle of a heatwave, and having been poorly with a sickness bug just the day before!

The route makes the most of Devon’s brilliant traffic-free trails, including the Tarka Trail, the Granite Way and Drake’s Trail, linked by quieter country lanes and a few tough climbs.

Read on for Claire’s day-by-day account, from ice cream stops and cool tunnels to the support crew waiting at the finish with a medal, plus her thoughts on multi-day cycling with young children.

Our annual ‘Mummy and Oliver Adventure’

Every year, Oliver (now 8) and I plan a special ‘Mummy and Oliver Adventure’. So far, our adventures have included multi-day cycling and walking trips, wild camping and coastal trips, and this year we decided to take on something a little bigger: the Devon Coast to Coast.

The plan was to cycle from Ilfracombe on the north coast of Devon to Plymouth on the south coast, over three days. We were also incredibly lucky to have our own ‘support crew’ along for the adventure: hubby, Oliver’s big sis and the dog! They travelled ahead, set up camp each night and were there to greet us with huge cheers when we arrived.

A wobbly start

It was forecast to be a very hot week, with temperatures heading towards the high 20s and low 30s by the third day. We travelled down to Topsham to spend a few days with family beforehand, which also worked well as a base.

But two days before we were due to start, Oliver came down with a sickness bug. Saturday night was a very poorly one, and he spent most of Sunday asleep in the shade of the trees in the garden. By Sunday evening, it was looking increasingly unlikely that we would be setting off on Monday morning.

But Oliver had other ideas!

Much to everyone’s surprise, he woke up on Monday morning full of beans and immediately asked, “What time are we setting off for Ilfracombe?”

So off we went!

Day 1: Ilfracombe to Little Torrington

We arrived in Ilfracombe at around 10am and had a quick look around the harbour, including the famous Verity statue by Damien Hirst, before setting off.

Onto the Tarka Trail

Our first challenge was a tough climb out of Ilfracombe, but once we reached the Tarka Trail, the riding became much more enjoyable. The trail follows the River Torridge, and this section is fantastic for children - largely traffic-free and full of interesting things to spot along the way.

There were plenty of reminders of the railway that once ran through the area, including sections of the old railway line, sculptures and waymarkers.

Oliver also proved that he is becoming an excellent navigator. Some of the Route 27 signs (the National Cycle Network route that the Devon Coast to Coast follows) were surprisingly easy to miss, but Oliver spotted the less obvious ones and kept us heading in the right direction!

Pizza and charades at camp

Eventually, the trail brought us directly to our campsite at Little Torrington. Unfortunately, we arrived just a little too late to make use of the outdoor swimming pool, but we made up for it with calzone pizzas cooked on the camping oven, followed by a family game of charades before bed. And that was Day 1 done!

Distance: 56.18km

Day 2: Little Torrington to Lydford

We made an early start on Day 2 to try to beat the heat and headed back onto the Tarka Trail.

Climbs and catch-ups

The route took us through Hatherleigh, where we met up with our support crew for lunch, a quick catch-up and some much-needed food and drink before continuing towards Okehampton.

Leaving Hatherleigh involved another steep climb, followed by a big climb up towards the Granite Way at Okehampton.

The Granite Way (and an ice cream stop)

Once we reached the trail, though, it was fantastic. The Granite Way provided a beautiful, traffic-free ride all the way towards Lydford, with some spectacular scenery along the way.

And, of course, no cycling adventure in Devon would be complete without an ice cream stop! We stopped at Devon Cycle Hire, conveniently located just off the trail, for a very well-deserved ice cream before completing the final section to the campsite in Lydford.

Taking it bit by bit in the heat

This was a tough day, and it wasn’t without its moments, especially with the heat adding another level of difficulty to an already challenging ride. We took it bit by bit, chatted about all sorts of things to keep the focus away from the physical effort, and took regular breaks in the shade of the trees when needed.

By the end of another huge day, Oliver had cycled almost 56km and was still looking remarkably fresh!

Distance: 55.92km

Day 3: Lydford to Plymouth

Day 3 started very early. We were out of camp by 7.30am, as temperatures were due to be over 30 degrees by mid-afternoon.

Our final destination was Plymouth, with the route taking us around the edge of Dartmoor, through Tavistock and eventually onto Drake’s Trail.

Keeping cool in the tunnels

Once again, there was plenty of fantastic traffic-free cycling, mixed with quieter country roads and lots of opportunities to find shade when needed. One of the highlights for Oliver was the tunnels along the route. Some were relatively short, while others were quite long and dimly lit throughout. Not only were they exciting to cycle through, but on such a hot day they were also a great way to cool down - we could feel the drop in air temperature as we approached them, long before we saw them!

The final push to the Barbican

As we got closer to Plymouth, Oliver’s little legs were beginning to feel the miles. Making our way through the city towards the Barbican was a bit of a slog, with more hills and now traffic to navigate, but eventually we reached our destination. And there was our fantastic support crew, waiting with enormous cheers, a very well-deserved medal and a huge high five for Oliver!

He had done it: 167km over three days!

Can young children do multi-day cycling trips?

It was an incredible achievement, but more importantly, it was another brilliant adventure that we were able to share together.

Oliver has always loved cycling, but his confidence has grown even more since he started his sessions with KCC. Watching him navigate sections of the route himself, tackle climbs that looked daunting and simply keep pedalling when his legs were getting tired made me incredibly proud - and he’s very proud of himself too.

For anyone wondering whether multi-day cycling adventures are possible with young children - they absolutely are, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it!

They don’t have to be huge distances or complicated trips. Just getting out there, riding side by side, exploring somewhere new and having the time to chat, laugh and experience the adventure together makes for some of the best quality time you can have.