Skip to content
The people cycling on a paved track through green-leaved woodland
Plymbridge Wood cycle trail | © National Trust Images/Chris Lacey
Devon

Plymbridge Woods family cycle trail

Have fun with the family on this cycle ride which follows the route of an old Great Western Railway track. From the edge of Plymouth, you plunge straight into glorious oak woodland before emerging out into open countryside. The trail leads you past dramatic industrial remains, including towering quarry faces, and across breathtaking viaducts. You’ll get the chance for close-up views of nesting wild peregrines (in season) and a taste of fresh moorland air all year round.

Total steps: 6

Total steps: 6

Start point

Plymbridge Woods car park, grid ref SX523585

Step 1

Leave the main National Trust car park at Plymbridge Woods and cycle up a slope onto the old Great Western Railway line, now National Cycle Network route 27. Pause and look left at the disused Plym Halt station. Turn right, away from the city of Plymouth.

Step 2

Ride about 1.5 miles (2.4km) on to the Cann Viaduct. If you're visiting in spring and early summer, stop off at the peregrine viewing platform for fantastic close-ups of these majestic birds of prey through mounted telescopes. If you're lucky, you might see them tending the chicks at their quarry cliff-ledge nest.

Step 3

Proceed over three more viaducts, pausing to look down onto the surrounding woodland and countryside.

Step 4

After about 4 miles (6.4km), from the start, you will reach Leighbeer Tunnel, cut out of solid rock by railway engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. This is curving and dimly lit, so proceed with extreme care.

Step 5

Leave the old railway line and go left down a minor road towards Shaugh Prior. At Shaugh Bridge, cross over the River Plym and immediately pull into the left.

Step 6

Dismount and wheel your cycle across the footbridge into the National Trust Dewerstone Woods. Here you can explore the remains of an old tile making kiln and search for the remains of old leats and wheelpits. It is an ideal place for a picnic. To return, go back over Shaugh Bridge, ignore the first road on the right (which you came down on from the tunnel), and take the next turning on the right. This will take you back up onto National Cycle Network route 27 at Shaugh Prior platform.

End point

Plymbridge Woods car park, grid ref SX523585

Trail map

Plymbridge Woods cycle trail map
Plymbridge Woods cycle trail map | © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey

You made it

Share your experience

More near here

The viaduct among the trees in Plymbridge Woods, Devon
Place
Place

Plymbridge Woods 

A wooded valley opening up to the moors of Dartmoor with a rich and varied industrious past

Plympton, Devon

Get in touch

Plymbridge Road, Plympton, Devon, PL7 4SR

Our partners

Cotswold Outdoor

We’ve partnered with Cotswold Outdoor to help everyone make the most of their time outdoors in the places we care for.

Visit website 

You might also be interested in

Two children walk down steps outside at Plymbridge Woods, Devon in the summer
Article
Article

Things to see and do at Plymbridge Woods 

Discover what you can do when visiting Plymbridge Woods, a 'bridge' between rugged open, windswept moorland and the city of Plymouth and the coast.

Walkers climbing rocks against a bright blue sky with the mountains in the distance at Sugarloaf, Monmouthshire

Walking 

Explore some of the finest landscapes in our care on coastal paths, accessible trails, woodland walks and everything in between. Find the best places to walk near you.

A visitor carrying a backpack and walking along a footpath at Divis and the Black Mountain with stone walls either side, the countryside visible in the background.
Article
Article

Follow the Countryside Code 

Help to look after National Trust places by observing a few simple guidelines during your visit and following the Countryside Code.

A group of people in a hiking group are being guided on a hike by rangers at Marsden Moor, West Yorkshire
Article
Article

Cotswold Outdoor: our exclusive walking partner 

Find out more about the National Trust’s ongoing partnership with Cotswold Outdoor as our exclusive walking partner.

Family walking on the estate at Arlington Court, Devon.

Walking in Devon 

From rugged coastline with captivating views to gentle woodland strolls, these are some of the best walks in Devon this winter.