Getting Around Devon

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This really is a great little train journey, travelling the 39 miles from Exeter up to Barnstaple (or vice versa of course), following for the most part the valleys of rivers Exe, Yeo and Taw with stunning rural scenery as the train winds along the respective rivers' courses, often criss-crossing them on Victorian railway bridges.

The Tarka Line provides an essential rural link to its villages en-route; many of the station stops being mere hamlets with little more than the station itself (and usually a pub!) but providing access to the larger villages scattered around this mid-section of Devon.

From the terminus at Barnstaple the wonderful world of North Devon opens up, umbellifera-like, with local bus services radiating from the town's bus station to all points on the Devon compass including my personal favourites of Lynton and Lynmouth.

At the Exeter end the local bus services cover the whole of Mid and South Devon and the railway stations of St Davids and Central join the National Rail Network giving country-wide accessibility.

Train run roughly hourly with the first train of the day departing Exeter at 0559 and the last leaving Barnstaple at 2209 tho' not all trains stop at all stations and some stations are "request stops" (which means that to stop the train you have to put your hand out to signal the driver - just like catching a bus!). Websites have full details of timetables etc and the first has links to bus services too.

If you are coming from London, then there should be a train from Waterloo. Some of the stations it visits on the way are:

Salisbury (platform 4)
Tisbury
Crewkern
Gillingham
Axminster. Very long tunnel which pop's ears
Honiton
Feniton
Pinhoe
Exeter Central
Exeter St davids
Dawlish
Teignmouth.

The journey takes about two hours and a quarter.

There are 2 car ferries which cross the River Dart, higher & lower. I personally always use the lower ferry, just out of habit.

The crossing takes less than 5 minutes, Costs £3.00 each way (bit steep!!)

You can buy a book for 20 crossings for only £16.00, which takes the price down to 80p a crossing, quite a saving. Foot passangers cost £1.00 each way

This is Lower car ferry loading up, with Dartmouth in the background

There are a few ways to get to Cockington.

Walking (or by Car):
Follow the road inland from Livermead Beach (just up from Corbyn's Head). At the first junction cross the road and then take the country path beside the Cockington stream. This will take you directly into the village.
Although the road runs next to this path.

Alternatively follow Walnut Road from the main traffic light junction leading towards the Torr Abbey area. This leads past a series of local shops and continues uphill towards St Matthews Church and Green. The road is now St Mathews Road. At the top of the hill take one of two left turns. One can be driven the other is a one way road and can only be walked down (or driven up!).

There is a dial a bus service that can take you into Cockington Village:
Dial-a-bus:(01803)211467

There are tourist transport services into Cockington from the Sea Front and Harbour area which run during the summer.

Alternatively take a horse-drawn carriage and be in keeping with the history of the area.

I originally stated that Cockington was not very wheel chair friendly, however I stand corrected - the lovely people in Cockington have sorted out good wheel chair access around most of the village - enjoy!

Other good website:
http://www.countryside-trust.org.uk/cockington.htm

This is a great bargain. For £10 residents of the two counties can buy this annual pass which entitles the holder to 1/3 off all off-peak train tickets within Devon and Cornwall. Then for a double plus the discount also applies to the Devon Day Ranger ticket which brings the price down to £6.60 for a day's unlimited travel around Devon's rail network. It can also be used to get a discount on "PlusBus" add-ons and so for a city visit to Exeter from say Barnstaple you can add unlimited bus travel for that city for an extra pound or so.

Whilst the card is only available to residents if you happen to be visiting someone here who has the card it is valid for a second adult (regardless of residency) and accompanying children get their tickets (point-to-point) for £1 each.

Just the job for my recent pub crawls ;)))

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This A-Z map is definitely the most useful for navigating Devon. It shows all the roads, railway lines and most of the walking paths as well as highlighting most of the main tourist attractions. The town and city plans are especially useful for those travelling by public transport as they show the bus and rail stations and the gazeteer indexes and locates almost every village and hamlet.

It's not a freebie but given its attention to detail is well worth paying the £3.75 for. Most tourist offices stock it as do booksellers, newsagents and many other outlets. I live here and use it all the time for my forays.

Unfortunately the late 1960's Beeching cuts in the, then, British Rail network resulted in the closure of many of Devon's rural rail services. However what remains is still a pretty good network and some of the train journeys are spectacularly scenic.

Exeter St David's station is the hub of the system and from here you can follow the River Exe and its wildfowl-inhabited mudflats down to the South Coast at Exmouth, or go north following the River Taw through the lush scenery of mid-Devon to the mini-metropolis of Barnstaple. You can have a morning's shopping in the proletarian city of Plymouth and then sneak into Cornwall following the stunning Tamar Valley line for a late lunch.

If beaches are your thing, the golden sands of Torbay beckon, only a 45 minute journey which literally touches the magnificent Jurrasic Coastline at Dawlish - on a stormy day the waves crash against the sea wall, spattering the passing trains and sometimes even flooding the tracks.

For small town Devon at its best the line eastwards from Exeter to London Waterloo passes through Pinhoe, Whimple, Feniton, Honiton and Axminster (where the carpets come from) before leaving the County.

OK you can't do all this in a day but for a casual rail wander you can get a Devon Day Ranger ticket from any train station for the princely sum of £10. This allows unlimited travel within the County, on all train services, after 9.30 am on weekdays and all day Saturdays and Sundays.

Great if you want to do a town to town pub crawl!

For a network map click HERE

Not being a car driver myself this is something that I won't have the opportunity to use but it sounds like an enterprising idea.

Basically if you're going out for a drink in North Devon then you can book a driver to pick you and your car up at a specified time and place (from midday until late). The chauffeur arrrives on a collapsible motorbike which is then stowed in your car boot and you get driven home in your own vehicle.

The business is based in Barnstaple and covers an area of about 15 miles radius. Whilst it is best to book (and pay) at least 24 hours in advance, it may be possible to arrange a pick-up at the last minute if they have a free driver.

Website has all the info: