Читать книгу Railway Day Trips: 160 classic train journeys around Britain - Julian Holland - Страница 16

Marketed as the ‘Tarka Line’, this scenic railway winds its way along the unspoilt valleys of the Yeo and Taw rivers through rich farmland and wooded countryside, linking the cathedral city of Exeter with scattered small villages and the ‘capital’ of North Devon. Opened in stages between 1851 and 1854 this railway is the only survivor of a network of lines – collectively known as the ‘Withered Arm’ – that served resorts in North Devon and North Cornwall until the ‘Beeching Axe’ of the 1960s. Today’s trains depart from Exeter Central station and descend the 1-in-37 gradient to busy St Davids station, situated on the former Great Western Railway’s main line between Paddington and Penzance. From here, Barnstaple-bound trains head north alongside the River Exe before branching off up the Yeo Valley, criss-crossing the river eight times to reach the town of Crediton.

West of Crediton, the railway passes through Yeoford station and at Coleford Junction, where it diverges from the little-used heritage line to Okehampton, heads northwest through Copplestone station to reach the summit of the line at Morchard Road. From here it is downhill to Lapford before joining the winding, wooded valley of the River Taw to Eggesford station where there is a passing loop. Here the 12th-century church and surrounding countryside attract walkers while the nearby pub, and several others along the line, attract real ale aficionados. The railway continues its descent along the peaceful and heavily wooded Taw Valley through King’s Nympton, Portsmouth Arms, Umberleigh and Chapelton stations (all request stops). North of Chapelton the valley broadens out through dairy farmland before the railway terminates at Barnstaple station. With its famous pannier market, unspoilt town centre and attractive riverside location Barnstaple is worthy of exploration and also makes a good starting point for walkers and cyclists along several closed railway lines that make up the Tarka Trail northwards to Braunton and southwards to Bideford and Torrington.

DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

cycle hire; Tarka Trail railway path to Bideford and Torrington; riverside railway path to Braunton; Queen Anne’s Walk; Pannier Market and Butchers’ Row; Barnstaple Castle Mound; Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon; Heritage Trail; South West Coast Path

FREQUENCY OF TRAINS

1 per hour (Mon-Sat)

1 every 2 hours (Sun)

39 MILES 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES

NUMBER OF CHANGES: 0

A colourful Tarka Line train from Exeter makes its way through rolling Devon farmland en route to Barnstaple.