THE North Devon countryside continues to put on a fantastic free show to enjoy on a bike. Starting at Bideford Cycle Hire in Torrington Street is a ten-mile journey through historic times, all served up inside what nature does best – the glorious landscape that re-invents itself from season to season.

The Tarka Trail itself has been recycled from a railway line that dated back to the 19th century, when cargo wagons carried mostly ball clay mined at Petrockstowe, Leith and Peters Marland. Left behind are station platforms, track, signals and the tunnel entered after cycling a half-mile ascent from the River Torridge bridge near Landcross.

The trail conveniently cuts through what the A386 road traffic instead has to ascend over a gearbox-testing eight per cent gradient before reaching the country lane towards Weare Giffard. Leave the trail at the gate for Giffard Cross to carefully ride beneath its bridge north-westward and two miles to the village via another landmark in local transport.

Before the bicycle was invented, a complex rate of tolls was charged to cross the Halfpenny Bridge after its completion in 1835 that caused 66 years of resentment until ownership was transferred to the council. This followed numerous attempts to arrange a deal, while the penny-farthing replaced the hobby horse for high society's sporting leisure.

It wasn't until the safety bicycle emerged at the start of the 20th century with equally sized wheels that it became the affordable utility transport we recognise today. Therefore take advantage of this liberation to pass two woodlands before the 18th century Cyder Presse inn, where you can rest up to view the tranquil River Torridge valley.

After tackling the onward two-mile woodland road to School Lane in Great Torrington, carefully turn right at the New Street section of the A386 for the rapid Station Hill descent. Otherwise from April, take a break exploring the Torrington 1646 museum in South Street, where fun is put into the blood curdling history made by the English Civil War.

This is where the war's last battle that year ended Royalist resistance in the West Country to Oliver Cromwell's ten-year Commonwealth. The anniversary of the battle is remembered this year in events on Saturday, February 18, that conclude with a dramatically charged re-enactment and torch-lit procession.

Remembering that the bicycle's front brakes provide most of the stopping power, carefully aim for a right turn across the last left-hand corner of Station Hill to rejoin the Tarka Trail via the Puffing Billy pub.

Riding north-westward from here, the trail presents a wildlife show all year, best seen beyond Beam Weir from the second of three bridges over the snaking River Torridge. Otters which inspired Henry Williamson's classic 1920s' novel, Tarka the Otter, are sometimes witnessed at play here.

I am fortunate to have enjoyed this once, an extremely rare daylight sighting during a late springtime ride some years ago. The previously near-extinct otter population has recovered thanks to a ban on river-polluting pesticides and legal protection making it an offence to intentionally kill or harm the iconic animal.

In autumn, join hungry cormorants and herons patiently watching out for the salmon that leap the weir. A small flash of electric blue colour by the river seen from the corner of an eye is likely to be the staccato flight of a kingfisher just above the water's edge always looking for the next catch.

Return in the springtime to delight in the sweetly pungent aroma of abundant wild garlic, whose chopped leaves, not the cultivated bulbs sold in shops, provide a tasty garnish to soups or salads. I wish I knew enough about the fungi to differentiate those edible for a forage fry-up.

It is easy to be carried away in thought within this natural theatre, but there's a four-mile ride ahead with a deceptively testing rise before the bike can be returned to Bideford. Descending after the tunnel, Landcross opens out the trail to a glorious panoramic view to the saltmarsh reeds and across the River Torridge quayside.

Up to a 100 trading ships would have squeezed into the quayside only a century ago, in transit between the Atlantic Ocean and the River Severn. Unfortunately the Kathleen and May sailing ship is no longer docked to explore.

Instead, as any ship's crew would have done on a winter's day, make the most of local pubs such as the trailside Blacksmiths Arms or across the bridge in Market Place, where the Joiners Arms hosts lively gigs.

Bideford Cycle Hire

Torrington Street, Bideford EX39 4DR www.bidefordbicyclehire.co.uk 01237 424123

The Cyder Presse

Weare Giffard, Bideford EX39 4QR

www.cyderpresse.co.uk, 01237 425517

Torrington 1646 Museum

Castle Hill, South Street, Great Torrington EX38 8AA

www.torrington-1646.co.uk, 01805 626146

Blacksmiths Arms

23 Torrington Street, Bideford EX39 4DP

01273 477747

Joiners Arms folk gigs from 8pm every Thursday and acoustic-roots session by Baz Bix on Sundays 3 to 6pm.

6 Market Place, Bideford EX39 2DR

01237 472675