123 Okehampton to Friary

Posted on 22 August 2025 by Scout

This is another refresher that the scout will do in stages, there being so much ground to cover.

All the loud trumpeting made the return of a regular train service to Okehampton seem like a miraculous achievement, but the truth was that a line which had never really become disused was simply reinstated, in large part as an exemplar for the “Restoring Your Railway”—or “Reversing Beeching”—diversion.

Okehampton was a terminus after it first opened but the line soon went on, reaching its furthest extent west at Padstow, on the North Cornwall coast, and south at Turnchapel, outside Plymouth.

Today, Okehampton is a terminus again but 100 miles of dismantled railway lie beyond. This mileage does not include the Plymouth lines serving the Southern’s former main stations, Devonport and Friary; Callington; and the humble N.D. & C.J.R. between Torrington and Halwill.

April, 2023: B.R. Totems given to the groups campaigning for their lines to be reinstated are displayed on the Up platform.
All four stations could once have been reached by going in this direction.

Mileages: Okehampton to Bere Alston, 22¾; Meldon Junction to Bude, 28¼; Halwill Junction to Padstow, 49¾. Total: 100¾ miles.

The compactness of the town suggests a turn of the century view, but actually this was taken from above in 1932.
The station can be seen at centre right, with the line curving towards the south-west, past the military sidings and beneath Park Road, today’s Tors Road.
This is one of the photographs found in “Okehampton in ’88 and ’91.”
The dismal state of the former double main line in April, 2023. The rails were only visible in places when the scout rode this way in August, 2025.

Meldon Quarry

Quite by surprise and at first shrouded in a cloak of mystery, the quarry was reactivated in 2025 by Meldon Aggregates, Ltd., which firm has a lease from Aggregate Industries. The mobile plant and machinery brought in reminded those at Christow of what happened at Ryecroft Quarry in 2000.

Meldon Viaduct

The viaduct seen in April, 2023.
Cyclists sometimes move as fast as the trains once did: there was always a 20 m.p.h. restriction. +
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Meldon Gorge in April, 2023. the dam is at centre. +
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Meldon Junction

These photos were taken in February, 2025.

Modern-day passengers, perhaps expecting to have a scenic journey between Exeter and Okehampton, often remark about the line being in a green tunnel for much of the way. Actually, the most majestic scenery was always enjoyed beyond Okehampton, where the line sweeps down from its summit at 950 feet on the slopes to the north and west of Dartmoor.

A cyclist knows that he is over the hump, once the highest point on the Southern system.

As if further to emasculate this highly engineered railway, the trail makers have included meanders, possibly to give the feel of a country lane.
Between Worting Junction and Devonport, the maximum persmissible speed for loco-hauled trains was 85 m.p.h. There were, of course, local restrictions.
The sun came out just as the scout stopped to look at St. Thomas à Becket’s Church in Sourton.

Lake Viaduct

It is not known whether this was the first view passengers once had of Brent Tor. +
Unlike others along the line, this hut on the approach to Bridestowe was boarded shut. The scout did not know until he returned home what the flash had exposed, after he had poked the camera through a hole. If he’d seen the open window, he might have realized that this was home to bats.

Rattlebrook Peat

Bridestowe

Between Bridestowe and Lydford is one of the few lengths of line with no earthworks. This was probably eradicated by the farmer and the trail has been made along the original course.
The main line, seen at the top of the picture, with Lydford Viaduct at left, was still Southern-owned in 1947, but it would not be for much longer.
The castle and St. Petrock’s are obvious.
The old main line is right beside the road leading to Lydford Station, which was about a mile and a half from the Post Office in the village.

Lydford

Brentor

The “Losing Track” chapter which shows Brentor and the war memorial in the village comes to mind.

As the scout took the road between Brentor and Mary Tavy, he thought that St. Michael’s would not have been seen from the train here, as the line is in the dip. +
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1949
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