Further information and ideas to complement the Walkable Tavistock street and path map.
Notes on particular paths
Square I7: CORRECTION. The route of the unsurfaced path to Whitchurch Road from the gate marked at the western corner of Whitchurch Down is shown incorrectly. Please look at this amendment before using the path. Apologies for our volunteers’ error.
Squares G5-6: (Bedford Car Park) The car parks on the north-west bank of the river are separated from the riverside path by a stone wall. There are 3 gaps in this with steps. For a step-free route go round the west end of the wall beside Meadowlands Leisure Centre (venue 8).
Squares H3-4, I3: (Tavistock College) To the north-west of Tavistock College, separated from school grounds by a wire fence, the cycle path (part of NCN 27) runs parallel to a higher level canal-side pedestrian path, separated by a hedge. There is surfaced step-free access between them a few metres west of Plymouth Road, near the bridge across the canal, and near a school entrance mid-way between these. There are also unsurfaced connection points at other gaps in the hedge. Students and staff are informed of times gates on this boundary are open. Visitors should enter via Crowndale Road (I4).
Squares I3 to N1 (Canal Towpath – Heritage Trail) This is an attractive unsurfaced path which, following improvements, is wide and level enough for wheelchair use and passes artworks and history information boards.
Street Index
The street index on the back of the map indexes all roads named to grid squares they cross. It is not a full list of names in postal addresses – eg blocks of flats are not named.
A text version of the index, in a larger font, is available here.
Bus stops
Bus stops (shown on the map by a blue dot) are stops used (in April 2025) by one or more scheduled bus services, sourced from a national online database. Not all are marked on the street, eg in new estates or for infrequent (eg weekly or seasonal) services. Bus routes can change at short notice. See our Better Buses page for links to current online information, and Tavistock Bus Station (map F5, venue 6, shown as blue square) for a normally up to date printed summary board.
Venues
Venue 13 on Plymouth Road (square G4), formerly known as the Alexander Centre, is now Castlebridge School.
Websites linked from the map
The pdf contains hyperlinks. These are repeated here for convenience.
Map published by Transition Tavistock; copyright & design Four Point Mapping
Enjoy walking: Active Devon; Visit Tavistock; walkingwestdevon.co.uk; Countryside Code; Dartmoor Way; Tavistock Ramblers.
Good to know: Highway Code; Report a problem; In Touch Tavi
Buses: Bus Times; DevonBus; Traveline;
Activity ideas
Can you find the 8 locations in the Walkable Tavistock Spotter Quiz 2026. All are on paths on the map. Answers, if needed, here.
Still useable – the 2023 Spotter Challenge . Hints here. Answers here.
National walking charity Living Streets worked with artists to produce “The Walkbook: recipes for walking and wellbeing” – a free, downloadable, collection of creative ways for individuals, families and groups to make neighbourhood walks more interesting.
More suggestions? Send them to us – contact details here.
Important to know (and shown on the printed and pdf copies):
Although we have tried to ensure accuracy, Transition Tavistock and its partners cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions in this map. Paths shown appear open at the time of publication. Some roads, paths and facilities on estates under construction are based on information from the developer and may not be complete on the publication date. The representation on this map of a road, track, cyclepath or footpath is no evidence of the existence of a right of way.
Where we become aware of additional relevant information, corrections, or significant changes (eg to a venue name) we note them in the sections above.