Cycling the Exe Estuary Trail – A Guide to Devon’s Scenic Cycle Route
The Magic of Estuaries
No one needs a newspaper article to tell them that estuaries are very, very special places. These zones where rivers meet the sea create a magical mix of fresh and salt water - a brackish blend that makes them some of the most productive and important habitats on Earth.
Estuaries serve as nurseries for fish and shellfish, and are critical feeding grounds for thousands of migratory birds. But they’re more than just wildlife havens, estuaries are nature’s filters, cleaning pollutants from our waterways before they reach the ocean. Their salt-marshes and mudflats also act as natural defences, protecting coastlines from storm surges and erosion.
The Exe estuary at Starcross
They also happen to be fascinating and beautiful places where you can spend a day exploring creeks, wildlife reserves and waterside villages, as well as simply taking in the ever-changing scenes that come and go with the changing of the tides.
🚴♂️ Exe Estuary Trail – Quick Guide
Serves: Day-trippers, cyclists, families, walkers
Preparation Time: 1 day (allow 4–6 hours with stops)
Difficulty: Easy to moderate (mostly flat, a few small hills)
Ingredients:
🚲 A bike (electric or traditional – hire available in Exeter, Exmouth & Topsham)
🎟️ Ferry fare (£6 adult + £2 bike, cash only, Starcross–Exmouth, 07934 461672)
🥪 Snacks or pub lunch stop (try the Turf Hotel)
🐦 Binoculars for birdwatching (Bowling Green Marsh RSPB, Dawlish Warren)
💷 Fish & chips in Exmouth (Rockfish recommended)
Specially made route on the east bank
Method:
Begin in Topsham (or Exeter/Exmouth if preferred).
Cycle anticlockwise: follow pavements and quiet paths toward Exeter, crossing the A379 cycle bridge.
Ride south past the Exeter Ship Canal, reedbeds and reserves, stopping at the Turf Hotel.
Continue to Starcross – either cycle on via Dawlish Warren or cross to the ferry quay.
Take the Starcross Ferry across to Exmouth’s new harbour (15 mins).
Pause for seaside lunch or fish & chips, then follow the Exmouth promenade cycleway.
Head north up the east bank through Lympstone, Exton and past Lympstone Manor, Nutwell Court, and the Royal Marines base.
Cross the River Clyst bridge and enjoy birdwatching at Bowling Green Marsh.
Return to Topsham to complete the full circuit (16 miles).
Cycling the Exe Estuary Trail
The reason I was thinking about estuaries one day last week was because I was cycling alongside one of the South West’s largest and most important. And when I say “cycled alongside” I really mean “circumnavigated”.
How do you circumnavigate an estuary on a bicycle? Good question. You’d have difficulty cycling around many West Country estuaries - but there is one huge, glorious stretch of water, sand, reed and mud that is well-equipped for such an adventure.
I’m talking about the Exe Estuary, which nowadays boasts the Exe Trail - a 16-mile stretch of bicycling beauty and pedalling perfection. I am happy to hurl all the superlatives I can at this long and winding road. A road which, of course, is for the most part restricted for the use of cyclists and walkers.
It is wonderful. If you own a bicycle and live in the region, do yourself a favour and ride along all or part of it soon.
Why I Love Cycling with an Electric Bike
I say that as the owner of a very good electric bike - and I mention this for two reasons… One, because I have no truck with those pedantic pedallists who go around declaring that electric bikes are a form of cheating. Cheating what, or who? I get nothing but 100 percent enjoyment out of my mountain bike and if its electric motor makes life just a little bit easier, then so much the better.
Secondly, as a car driver whose job has required him to travel far too many miles along the West Country’s narrow and windy roads for the past quarter of a century, I am only too aware of the dangers of cycling on the highway. Yes, bicycles have every right on our roads - but, no, I don’t have the courage to be on one. A quiet country lane is as brave as I get. So a dedicated cycle-way feels like heaven. We should have more of them.
Bikes aboard the Starcross-Exmouth ferry
Practical Information – Riding the Exe Estuary Trail
Length: 16 miles (mostly flat, with a few gentle hills)
Start/Finish: Topsham, Exeter, Exmouth, or Dawlish Warren
Highlights: Wildlife reserves, historic pubs, seaside towns, ferries, castles, boardwalks
Bike Hire: Available in Exeter, Exmouth, and Topsham
Ferry Info: Starcross to Exmouth ferry (cash only)
Starting the Ride in Topsham
Topsham
I was pleased to discover that even the highway sections of the Exe Trail run along special dedicated sections of pavement or footpath. We discovered this soon after leaving Topsham, which is where we chose to park and begin our adventure. My friends who’d done the excursion before were planning to take the little Topsham ferry, which takes you across the Exe to the extensive reed-beds on the west side and the cycleway which runs right down the western side of the estuary. Alas, the tides weren’t playing ball thanks to a large depression out in the Atlantic, and the ferryman told us his first service was going to be an hour late.
We were determined to stick to our anticlockwise plan for the bike ride, so decided to take in the more urban part of the ride up towards Exeter. After pedalling along pavements and down side streets for a couple of miles we crossed the busy A379 near Countess Weir. Here the trail crosses the Exe via a dedicated cycle bridge, which allowed us to immediately recross the road with the help of traffic lights to join the cycleway proper.
Exe Trail uses the road bridge at Countess Weir
Cycling the West Bank of the Exe Estuary
That’s the boring bit over and done with. We’re now heading down the side of the Exeter Ship Canal, past the city’s sewerage works and under the M5 motorway, to start enjoying the wider open acres and vistas of the estuary.
Exe Trail passes under the M5
Many readers will know this section down the west side of the estuary, as it takes you past reed-beds, meadows and bird reserves to what is a rather famous pub, the 103-year-old Turf Hotel.
To quote the pub’s website: “Our Grade-II listed building still holds its original shape, with slanting floors, wonky windows and snuggly alcoves bathed in natural light. Extensive gardens stretch across our unrivalled waterside setting, immersing guests in the natural beauty of Exeter Canal and the River Exe estuary.”
We were duly immersed and refreshed with a drink, but didn’t have lunch as it was a little too early. Instead it was onwards and downwards, past the Powderham Estate and its castle, to the waterside village of Starcross. We must mention the railway here, as the entire cycle journey is accompanied by trains - fast express services and other slower trains on the mainline this side of the river, and local diesel units plying to and fro from Exmouth on the other.
Turf Hotel on the Exe Estuary
Highlights Along the West Bank of the Exe
Turf Hotel – a Grade-II listed pub with gardens stretching down to the estuary.
Powderham Castle & Estate – sweeping historic parkland.
Starcross – a railway village where you can choose to pedal on or catch the ferry to Exmouth.
The Starcross ferry (£6 for adults, plus £2 for your bike – cash only, call 07934 461672) is a highlight. In just 15 minutes you’re gliding past Dawlish Warren and into Exmouth’s smart new harbour.
Exe Trail passes the Powderham Estate
Starcross to Exmouth by Ferry
At Starcross you have a choice, you can either proceed along the Exe Trail, following it past Cockwood and around the inland part of Dawlish Warren, or you can do what we did and lug your bicycles over the mainline footbridge to reach the ferry quay.
Waiting for the ferry at Starcross
It is this excellent service which allows you to complete the circumnavigation (contact 07934 461672 - and note it’s cash only). A 15-minute voyage out of Starcross and along the inner shore of Dawlish Warren brings you to the actual mouth of the estuary, after which you are able to disembark at Exmouth’s posh new harbour area on the eastern shore. Very enjoyable indeed! The fare is £6 for adults and £2 for the bike - one of the few costs involved with this truly wonderful day-out.
Another cost for us was the fish and chip take-away we enjoyed from the Exmouth’s Rockfish outlet. Mitch Tonks’ seafood is always good and our Cornish hake and chips was no exception.
The Starcross-Exmouth ferry
Cycling the East Bank Back to Topsham
After a tootle along the length of Exmouth’s expansive and busy seafront (which also has a dedicated cycleway along the promenade) we turned north and wove our way through the streets to the main Exeter road. Here the Exe Trail sensibly follows the pavement rather than the busy highway for half-a-mile before leaving it for the welcome peace and quiet of the waterside.
Exmouth beach
Now we are heading up the east bank of the estuary, and rather wonderfully the trail sticks to it just about all the way up to Topsham, where we began. There are a couple of exceptions where it climbs low hills to follow some very quiet lanes around Lympstone and Exton, but these little diversions are fun in their own way. You get to see how the other half live - by which I mean, the extremely wealthy other half. Blimey! This is East Devon’s Millionaire’s Row - some of the massively upgraded homes in the nether regions of these two villages are posh with a large capital P.
Exe Trail east bank
Network Rail’s Exmouth branch-line runs between the trail and the waterside for much of the way, but it does not detract from the joy of the journey - in fact, the people who built the cycleway pulled out a great many stops when they devised this route up the estuary’s east bank. In quite a few places the trail runs along raised board-walk style sections, lifting cyclists and walkers above creeks and salt-marshes. We pass Michael Caines’ Lympstone Manor and its vineyard, and also the grand old mansion at Nutwell Court, as well as the famous Royal Marines base, which I’d never seen from the waterside before.
Exe Trail crosses the River Clyst near Topsham
There’s a particularly impressive bridge crossing the River Clyst tributary, which in turn introduces you the the well-known Bowling Green Marsh RSPB reserve. And so on into Tospham which, as an estuary port, is one of the jewels in Devon’s crown.
Dismount on short section to arrive at Topsham
A Perfect Devon Cycling Day Out
As I say, a truly wonderful day out. And certainly not too exhausting - the trail is mostly flat - there are just a couple of low hills to climb. If you own a bike, what are you waiting for? If you don’t, you can hire one for the day at various centres around the trail, all contactable online.
Sidebar – Sustrans and the National Cycle Network
The Exe Estuary Trail forms part of Route 2 on the National Cycle Network, cared for by Sustrans. The UK-wide network covers 12,000 miles of signed paths and routes for walking, wheeling, cycling and exploring outdoors.
A spokesperson for Sustrans told me: “As custodians of the network, we have a vision for a society in which the way we travel creates healthier places and happier lives for everyone - so our mission is to make it easier for everyone to walk, wheel and cycle.”
