The River Taw is one of Devon's most celebrated game fishing rivers, distinguished by its remarkable catchment that stretches across both of the county's great moorlands — Dartmoor and Exmoor — making it unique among Devon's rivers. Rising at Taw Head, a spring on the central northern flanks of Dartmoor, the river flows approximately 45 miles northward through the rolling Devon countryside, passing through small towns and villages before reaching the town of Barnstaple and emptying into Barnstaple Bay in the Bristol Channel. The lower river forms a broad estuary of wide meanders that joins with the estuary of the River Torridge at its western end. The river becomes tidal at Newbridge, approximately 12 miles from the sea. Fed by tributaries including the Lapford Yeo, the Little Dart River, and the River Mole — which itself drains upland Exmoor — the Taw grows considerably in size through its middle course, transforming into a full season-round salmon, sea trout, and brown trout fishery. The river flows through strongly agricultural land, with a rolling valley landscape that gives way to moorland in the headwaters. Its clear, fast-flowing currents and varied character make it one of Devon's premier angling destinations.