A NEW cycle and footpath between Tavistock and Bere Alston is due to be opened later this year, offering exciting opportunities to explore a stunning network of trails which have been created in the Tamar Valley.

The new path, some four miles in length, will use the old railway line between the two settlements. Access at Tavistock will be at Monksmead, close to the former railway bridge over the Callington Road.

Walkers and cyclists will be able to travel off road all the way to Rumleigh Lane near Bere Alston, where quiet lanes can take them into the village.

There will also be an access point to the track at Slymeford Farm, and one at Gawton Bridge.

This access point will allow users of the path to get straight to Gawton Mine, and then on to the network of trails which have been opened up as part of the World Heritage Site, within the Tamar Valley.

Graham Cornish, project manager for Devon County Council, which is overseeing the cyclepath scheme, said the opening up of the link, once all the safety work had been completed, was an exciting move and one which would also ultimately link with the Drake's Trail path.

'Tavistock is really going to become a mecca for some wonderful cycling and walking trails,' he said.

Cllr Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council cabinet member for highways and transportation, said: 'We have recently assembled all the land needed for the route from Tavistock to Bere Alston, and a few safety and other preparatory works are currently being planned. We hope to open an informal railway path from Tavistock to Bere Alston later this summer.

'Along with Drake's Trail, it means we will have two new railway paths to Tavistock in Jubilee year.'

Much of the funding for the Tavistock to Bere Alston route has come from the Tamar Valley Mining Heritage Project.

Tim Selman for the project said work had been underway on the cycle path and trail project since 2007 but had been complicated because of the change in ownership of Morwellham Quay.

He said: 'This is going to be a really, really lovely link between Tavistock and the Tamar Trails.

'Once you get on to them at Gawton, you will be able to travel all the way through to Devon Great Consols and something like 35 kilometres of off road trails.

'So with the new cycle path from Tavistock to Gawton you can go all the way off-road. It's a fantastic resource, and with the Drake's Trail soon to be completely finished to Plymouth, it's really going to put Tavistock on the map as a cycling destination.'