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| Bideford Railway Heritage Centre |
I was up in Barnstaple back in May 2025 as I was on the gorgeous Tarka Line (or the North Devon Line). It's been a railway line that I've been wanting to go on since my first year in Exeter and finally, I've got a chance to do so. In this post, you'll be joining me on this trip up north to explore North Devon's lost railways.
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| Tarka Line Map (Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=108960715) |
The Tarka line runs between Exeter and Barnstaple, serving various towns and villages in between, notably Crediton and Eggesford. It also serves a pub (Portsmouth Arms) and the middle of nowhere (Kings Nympton, with the village miles away from itself). A number of stops on this line are request stops, which means you need to notify the guard specifically if you want to get off, or flag down the driver if you want to get on, like hailing a bus)
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| 158951 takes me to Barnstaple |
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| Shoutout to St David's Starbucks for calling me Brian |
So, in a cloudy Saturday morning, I set off on a class 158, heading north along the tarka line into the gorgeous Devon countryside. We stopped at pretty much all stations along the line (even the request stops. I can't see if anyone got on or off though.). As the line is mostly single tracked (with passing loops at Crediton and Eggesford only, we met a class 166 heading the other direction at Eggesford.), the operation frequency is approximately 1 hour per train, despite the high amount of passenger flow between Barnstaple to Exeter. Now, here's the interesting bit: The line between Crediton and Barnstaple are actually controlled with
tokens.
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| Love the guard's heart-shaped paper punch |
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| Station signage on Platform |
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| Barnstaple Station Main Entrance |
We pulled into Barnstaple station's only platform (only operational one, there's also an unused island platform) at precisely an hour after our departure from Exeter. I was immediately drawn by the gorgeous station building with classic British Rail signages within the station, instead of regular GWR or older FGW branded ones (reminds me of King's Lynn Station in Norfolk, which does have classic BR signages).
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| North Devon Railway Map (Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2500672) |
The station, opened in 1854 served as the terminus for the North Devon Railway, which built a line connecting the town to Crediton, linking it with the Exeter and Crediton Railway. Prior to 1854, the line continued northwest to Fremington as a goods line but was later rebuilt to the North Devon's broad-gauge track standard, reopening as part of the route to Bideford in 1855. So, trains continued on from Barnstaple to Fremington, then stopping at Instow before terminating at Bideford (the original station, it got relocated when the line extended to Great Torrington), which is now the Bideford Railway Heritage Centre, preserving the station itself and Instow's signal box.
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| 15433 takes me to Bideford |
Anyway, I hopped on the next bus to Bideford, which is the 21 service to Westward Ho! (interesting name lol), which serves the same communities as the railway once did. (continues northwest to Westward Ho! or Appledore (21A) instead of heading back south to Great Torrington. The bus line the resembles the railway line the most is probably the 5B that runs directly to Exeter via both Bideford and Great Torrington, but that service is very infrequent.)
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| Bideford Ship On Launch Bus Stop (now renamed Clarence Wharf) |
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| Bideford Station Sign |
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| Bideford Railway Heritage Centre |
I got off at the
Ship On Launch Bus Stop (Named after a pub that no longer exists, now renamed Clarence Wharf Bus Stop. They've sure got some interesting names up here in North Devon) at East the Water, Bideford, the closest stop to the heritage centre. The centre itself is just a short walk away; I was quickly greeted by the BR Mark 1 Standard coach in the red and cream livery, and the Southern Railway PMV (Parcels & Miscellaneous Van) No.2142 both in the classic BR green livery. The coach serves at the heritage centre's cafe whereas the PMV serves as the "Interactive Interpretation Centre", showcasing the history of the railway through Bideford from 1854 to 1982.
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| Trolley, Planet Diesel Locomotive, and the Brake Van (from Left to Right) |
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| Planet 0-4-0 Diesel Locomotive |
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| A closer look of the Planet 0-4-0 Diesel Locomotive |
Other than the gorgeous Mark I coach and the PMV, there's also the Brake Van (BR standard 20-tonne brake van, helps with braking) and the gorgeous Planet 0-4-0 Diesel Locomotive, a Southern Region Departmental (Engineering) loco of the 1950s on display. Occasionally, the diesel locomotive will be open for cab rides, but unfortunately, it's not the case during my visit.
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| Semaphore signal |
There's also the classic semaphore signal on display within the station (well, or what's left of it), which we don't really get to see anymore since modern signalling systems are of course, electrical. In some cases, there aren't any lineside signals at all (e.g.
CBTC and
in-cab signalling).
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The line is now part of the South West Coast Path and National Cycle Network
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Beyond Bideford station, if you follow the old railway line, now part of the South West Coast Path (and also the Tarka trail) and continue down south, you'll eventually reach Torrington station, which is preserved by Tarka Valley Railway. Unfortunately, I'm unable to visit Torrington station at this particular journey but if you're interested in it, do go and have a look as I'm sure it'd definitely worth your while. (Apparently, they preserved a pacer unit there, so more of a reason to go check it out...?)
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| Ilfracombe Branch Line Map c.1874 (Source:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ilfracombe_1874_01.png) |
The line, when opened in 1874, goes from Barnstaple Junction station (the same Barnstaple station we use today), crosses the river taw and stops at Barnstaple Quay (which is somewhere near the town centre, later renamed Barnstaple Town and resited to the current location by the river) and continues north to Braunton, then eventually Ilfracombe. As you can see from the map above, there's actually a separate line the runs to Barnstaple (The Great Western Railway Devon and Somerset line station, later renamed Barnstaple Victoria Road, not to be confused with the one we know of today.). The line eventually closed in 1970 for declined usage, and while most of the other stations along the line are demolished, Barnstaple town station survived to tell the tale, and that where we're heading now.
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| 15342 takes me back to Barnstaple |
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| Barnstaple Bus Station |
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| Barnstaple Pannier Market |
So, I hopped on the next 21 bus heading back to Barnstaple. I got off at the bus station and made my way across the town centre. The town is quite busy on a Saturday afternoon, and it's not long before I came across the town's gorgeous Pannier Market (I've been to one in Tiverton, love these pannier markets. Not that I'm gonna buy anything, lol. But these are the hallmarks of Devon and the west country. You don't really find pannier markets elsewhere outside of the west country.)
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| Barnstaple High Street |
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| Barnstaple Town Station |
Past the high street, I reached the town station building by the river. Since its closure in 1970, it has now been modified and is home to a school. However, it's nice to see that the station sign is still up on the building.
As mentioned before, this station is relocated from the original one, which is located just south of the station along the strand. It's relocated in 1898 to allow connection with the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway for trains heading up to Lynton and Lynmouth. (That line, of course, is also closed all the way back in 1935, though some of the locomotives and track are preserved and restored. Currently, a bus service operates between Lynmouth and Barnstaple, with its route largely retracing the railway line.)
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| River Taw |
As the station building is right next to the river, I can get a proper view of the river Taw, which flows all the way from Taw Head in northern Dartmoor, and meets the Bristol Channel just north of Westward Ho!, after merging with river Torridge.
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| Queen Anne's Cafe |
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| Barnstaple Town station sign |
I followed the river down south and spotted a gorgeous building known as Queen Anne's Walk (Now Queen Anne's cafe, the statue standing on top of the building is indeed Queen Anne.), which is a grade I listed building dates back to 1713 as a meeting place for the town's merchants. In fact, the original Barnstaple Quay station was built adjacent to Queen Anne’s Walk, with the station building now part of the cafe Tea by the Taw. The Quay was infilled around 1870 to allow the construction of the station, as the track ran alongside the quay.
A Barnstaple Town station sign was found just alongside the little plaza area in front of Queen Anne's Cafe. It looks quite new to be assumed to be part of the original station building, but it's a nice reminder for any passers-by that there once stood a train station at where you're standing. After the station got relocated to the existing location, the original station site was turned into a bus station, until a new bus station opened in 1999 (the one we use now) and the area was redeveloped subsequently.
Anyway, thanks for joining me on this journey exploring North Devon's lost railways (well, only within Barnstaple and Bideford), and I hoped you enjoyed it as much as I do. As always, leave your thoughts and ideas down in the comments below, and I'll see you in the next post.
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