A pit-stop at Okehampton

 

If you want a station that represents best practice in refurbishment and renewal then Okehampton must be right up there. Instead of shooting past the town when heading west on the improved A30, take time out, instead, to visit this ancient market town and its splendid railway station at the top of the hill. An hour’s free parking in the station yard gives ample time to take a snack in the well-stocked café, which has an imaginative and tempting menu with a number of hot food and vegetarian options. Even if its only for a toilet stop, you’ll find a moments peace surrounded by original tiling, plumbing and woodwork that offers quite a contrast with hectic motorway services.  

Today the award-winning station, which is immaculately turned out in Southern Region green and cream, is enthusiastically supported by a number of local community groups, including Okerail and the Dartmoor Railway Association. There is a museum, a book shop and the old goods shed opposite is a youth hostel. The only current blemish is the footbridge over to platforms one and two. It had its roof whipped off in gales early in 2024 and is now closed off and awaiting attention.  

That the station is now such an attraction is largely due to the reinstatement of passenger services to Exeter. First opened in 1871, passenger trains lasted until closure by British Rail in 1972. Part of the former London and South Western Railway main line from Exeter to Plymouth that skirted round the top end of Dartmoor then survived to take out stone traffic from BR’s Meldon quarry immediately to the west of Okehampton, but this link closed in 2011. A groundswell of opinion in favour of reopening the previously freight only section between the link with the existing Barnstaple to Exeter line and Okehampton was supported by Devon County Council. Occasional heritage services then operated between 1997 and 2019.

National Rail took over in 2021 to provide a regular passenger service once again on what had become known as the Dartmoor Line. Two-car GWR Class 150 DMUs now operate an hourly service to the city and are clearly being well used both by local people, fell walkers and other tourists. Sustrans National cycle route 27 passes the station and a dedicated bus service connects the station to the town centre and to Tavistock. There is now considerable interest in the possibility of re-establishing the railway link with Bere Alston to re-instate an alternative route to Plymouth. During 2024, plans were already underway to construct a new station to the east of the town to be known as Okehampton Parkway and serving A30 users and local commuters living in the surrounding rural areas more directly.