Tarka Trail
149 km (93 miles), in England, through 2 national parks.
- Distance
- 149 km
- In miles
- 92.6 mi
- Day stages
- 8 at ~20 km
- Typical trip
- 6–7 days
- Countries
- England
- National parks
- 2
- Listed summits within 2.5 km
- 0
How long it really is
We measure Tarka Trail at 149 km (92.6 miles), computed by walking the OpenStreetMap route geometry point by point.
This is horizontal distance only. Our trail dataset carries no elevation profile, so we will not quote a total climb or a confident walking time — on hill routes ascent can add hours a day. A flat-ground pace gives roughly 35 h 30 min of walking for the whole route, which is a floor, not an estimate. Add your own ascent figure in the walking-time calculator for something usable.
Access rights along the way
The route stays within England, so one access regime applies along its length.
England
Conditional Right to roam: Right to roam only on mapped CRoW open access land.
Conditional Wild camping: Permission needed — except on the Dartmoor commons.
Following Darwall v Dartmoor National Park Authority [2025] UKSC 20 (21 May 2025), s.10(1) of the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 confers a public right to pitch tents or otherwise make camp overnight on the Dartmoor commons, as camping is a form of open-air recreation. This applies to the commons (not the whole National Park) — follow the park authority's backpack-camping map and code.
A waymarked route is a route you may walk — it does not follow that you may camp beside it, leave it, or take a dog on it. Long-distance paths cross farmland, estates and access land in turn, and byelaws and seasonal restrictions override the general position. This is general information, not legal advice. Check a specific spot with the access checker.
National parks on the route
The line passes through 2 national parks, each with its own byelaws and camping position.
The route in day stages
Tarka Trail cut into 8 stages of roughly 20 km, measured along the line itself. These are equal-distance splits computed from the geometry, not an official itinerary — they will not always land on a village, a bunkhouse or a station, and the real day you walk should be set by where you can sleep.
OpenStreetMap does not hold Tarka Trail as one continuous line, so the stages below run through the pieces in order of length and the joins between them are not walking distance. Treat the stage boundaries as approximate, and check the official route for the sections between them.
| Stage | Distance | Cumulative | Starts near | Ends near | Flat-ground time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20.4 km | 20.4 km | SS 6817 1149 | SX 6579 9894 | 4 h 29 min |
| 2 | 20.3 km | 40.6 km | SX 6579 9894 | SX 5920 9912 | 4 h 28 min |
| 3 | 20.3 km | 60.9 km | SX 5920 9912 | SS 5701 1209 | 4 h 28 min |
| 4 | 20.4 km | 81.3 km | SS 5701 1209 | SS 4769 2025 | 4 h 29 min |
| 5 | 20.4 km | 101.8 km | SS 4769 2025 | SS 6608 3159 | 4 h 29 min |
| 6 | 20.6 km | 122.4 km | SS 6608 3159 | SS 7231 3732 | 4 h 32 min |
| 7 | 20 km | 142.4 km | SS 7231 3732 | SS 7370 4659 | 4 h 24 min |
| 8 | 2.4 km | 144.8 km | SS 7370 4659 | SX 6214 9336 | 32 min |
Positions are 8-figure (100 m) OS grid references for points on the line, computed from WGS84 coordinates. Flat-ground times are Naismith at 5 km/h with a 6 min/hour rest allowance and no ascent — add the climb in the walking-time calculator before you plan around them.
Conditions on the route
Weather at the route midpoint live
Loading forecast for the midpoint of the route…
Forecast for the midpoint of the Tarka Trail, at MET Norway's own ground level — we hold no elevation profile for this route, so nothing here is altitude-adjusted, and conditions vary considerably end to end on a route this long. Weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0).
Daylight at the midpoint today
- Sunrise
- —
- Sunset
- —
- Daylight
- —
- Civil twilight ends
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Computed astronomically for 50.790, -4.004. Set a turnaround with the daylight safety planner.
Plan this walk
- Walking-time calculator — add ascent, terrain, pack weight and fitness to get a usable time.
- Pack-weight calculator — multi-day routes live or die on base weight.
- Kit-list generator — season and terrain aware.
- Access checker — what a specific grid reference on the route allows.
- Best month to walk — historical rainfall, temperature and wind by area.
- Safety notes — conditions change fast; build in margin.
Other long-distance paths nearby
Sources for this route
- Route geometry, name, waymark and operator: OpenStreetMap relation 1837385 — © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
- Distance, stages, country crossings, park crossings and summit proximity: computed by OpenFell from that geometry.
- Boundaries: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3.0). Summits: Database of British & Irish Hills v18.3 (CC BY 4.0).
OpenStreetMap data is licensed under the Open Database Licence. Our derived trail measurements are published under the same terms — see data sources.