The Tarka Trail runs Ilfracombe, Barnstable, Bideford, Meeth, Okehampton, Tavistock Plymouth. Home Farm Nature Reserve and Fremington Quay are between Barnstable and Bideford. Home Farm Nature Reserve is situated on the tidal estuary of the river Taw. It offers a habitat for many birds and butterflies and the reserve has new paths, gates and hides. You park at the Fremington Quay car park. See OS map 139. Turn off the B3233 drive down a narrow (one lane) road with passing places alongside the picturesque Fremington Pill Creek There is a café with toilets car park and a cycle hire. As well as a separate public car park. You walk along the tarmac Tarka Trail (South West Coast path) for about a mile. Then turn right off the Tarka Trail through a gate into the nature reserve. There is a walk of several miles through the reserve with a number of hides. Several of the hides have specially made wheelchair access viewpoints so you can remain in the wheelchair and look out. There are bench seats in all the hides. There are a great variety of birds to see on the ponds and marshes of the reseve and estuary itself. Bring your binoculars. The walk around the nature reserve is mostly level with grass tussocks and bumpy grass fields. Some parts of the path are well worn by cows hooves. At the cycle hire you can hire a Tramper cross country mobility scooter as part of the countryside mobility scheme. If you need to use a wheelchair you would be well advised to hire a Tramper to go round the nature reserve as you travel through fields, some wet ground and flat but bumpy grassland. Both the Tramper and the TGA scooter have field tested the Nature Reserve paths and have had no problems driving round. There are some wonderful views of ponds and the estuary. You are well away from urban areas and the whole site is relaxing and peaceful. There is a big variety of birds to look at and helicopters from RAF Chivenor.
| OVERALL RATING: GREEN | ||
| Path Surfaces: | ||
| Maximum Climbing Gradient: | 1 - GREEN | 2% |
| Maximum Descending Gradient: | 1 - GREEN | -2% |
| Total Elevation Gain: | 15 metres | |
| Distance: | ||
