A Tree Lined, Autumn View Along Rolle Road, Site Of The Victorian Rolle Canal With Gate And Bench; Great Torrington, Devon, Englan Royalty-Free Stock Photography

This view is along the tree lined footpath, known as Rolle Road. It is situated at the bottom of the Torridge Valley below Castle Hill. The Rolle Canal, which this right of way follows, was built between 1820 and 1824 for Lord Rolle. The weir which diverted the flow of the River Torridge into a leat, maintaining the canals water level is situated just above the RHS Rosemoor attraction. In total it stretched for seven and a half miles to the tidal River Torridge, below Weare Gifford. It functioned as a the main route for goods into and out of the area for a just under fifty years until it was abandoned in the 1870`s when the railway succeeded it.  The river Torridge which flows alongside starts its life on Woolley Moors between Bradworthy and Morwenstow. After completing a long loop, it meets the Taw at Appledore then flows out into the Bristol Channel. It is famous for its setting in ‘Tarka the Otter’ by Henry Williamson and more lately in ‘Flow’ a novel for young adults by John Insull.  This walk, along the River Torridge, leads to the old Torrington Railway Station, where you can join the Tarka Trail to Bideford and beyond along the disused railway line.