The Tour of Britain

The Tour of Britain

The UK’s largest cycle race is returning to Devon on Monday, September 3rd, and you could see it at the finishing line in Barnstaple. The Tour of Britain will be coming back to Devon after missing the South West last year, so it will be exciting to see some of the world’s top cyclist in action again. Stage 2 of the Tour of Britain race begins in Cranbrook, the UK’s newest town, and finishes in Barnstaple, with the final climb of the stage taking place at Challacombe.

You might also be able to see cyclists whiz past in Georgeham, Croyde and Braunton too, near our Woolacombe holiday cottages as getting to Barnstaple by car will not be advisable due to many road closures in place. The Devon stage of the Tour of Britain is often one of the most exciting, and this year will be no exception. The race will also be heading through a building this year too; South Molton’s Victorian Pannier Market, which is the first time for the Tour of Britain.

The Tour Village will be located on The Square in Barnstaple, with a big screen to allow fans to see the live coverage of the stage throughout the day. Getting to Barnstaple The Tour of Britain Devon Stage has released a spectators guide for getting to Barnstaple to watch the finish. Bus services will be running as usual, though delays are inevitable due to road closures. The event will be following part of the National Cycle Network Route 27, and you can access the Tarka Trail by bike yourself if you want to head into Barnstaple to see them finish on The Strand by the River Taw. Road closures and restrictions are in place around North Devon to allow cyclists to pass by safely. Rolling road closures will be in place, meaning they will only have no access when the race passes by. In Barnstaple, Commercial Road and Castle Quay will be closed to traffic from 5pm Sunday 2nd September to 9pm Monday 3rd September. On Monday, The Strand, Castle Street and North Walk will be closed from 5am to 9pm. Rolle Street will only be accessible until midday, and the Square and roads around it will have limited or be closed for the whole day. Parking is closed on these Barnstaple car parks: Castle Quay, Commercial Road, Litchdon Street and Museum car park on the Square. Other car parks have restricted access from 1pm to 4pm: Cattle Market, Tuly Street, North Walk, Paiges Lane and Fair View. If you do plan on driving to Barnstaple to be there for the finishing of the race, we suggest heading to the town earlier in the morning to avoid the restrictions.

For more information, head to devontourofbritain.co.uk.

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