Instow is a village in north Devon, England. It is on the estuary where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet, between the villages of Westleigh and Yelland and on the opposite bank to Appledore. There is an electoral ward with the same name. The ward's total population at the 2011 census was 1,501.
The Bideford Railway Heritage Centre CIC in Devon, England is a community interest company that is responsible for the management of the site of Bideford railway station. The company is also responsible for Instow signal box which opens on occasional Sundays and bank holidays from Easter to October.
The Tarka Line, also known as the North Devon Line, is a local railway line in Devon, England, linking the city of Exeter with the town of Barnstaple via a number of local villages, operated by Great Western Railway (GWR). The line opened in 1851 from Exeter to Crediton and in 1854 the line was completed through to Barnstaple. The line was taken over by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1865 and later became part of the Southern Railway and then British Rail. In 2001, following privatisation, Wessex Trains introduced the name Tarka Line after the eponymous character in Henry Williamson's book Tarka the Otter. The line was transferred to First Great Western in 2006.
The Tarka Trail is a series of footpaths and cyclepaths around north Devon, England that follow the route taken by the fictional Tarka the Otter in the book of that name. It covers a total of 180 miles (290 km) in a figure-of-eight route, centred on Barnstaple.
Crediton railway station is a railway station serving the town of Crediton in Devon, England. It is 7 miles 76 chains (12.8 km) from Exeter Central at milepost 179.25 from London Waterloo.
Okehampton railway station is a terminus railway station on the Dartmoor line serving the town of Okehampton in Devon, England. The station closed to regular traffic in 1972, but heritage and occasional mainline services ran from 1997 to 2019. Regular railway services resumed in November 2021.
Yeoford railway station is a rural station serving the village of Yeoford in Devon, England. It is on the Tarka Line to Barnstaple, 11 miles 42 chains (18.5 km) from Exeter Central at milepost 183 from London Waterloo.
Kings Nympton railway station, also spelt King's Nympton, is a halt on the Tarka Line in North Devon, serving the civil parishes of Chulmleigh, Burrington and King's Nympton. The station is located at Fortescue Cross, a road junction on the A377, around 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) from its namesake village. It is 26 miles 21 chains (42.3 km) from Exeter Central at milepost 197.75 from London Waterloo. The station and all trains are operated by Great Western Railway (GWR).
Pilton Yard, in Barnstaple was, between 1898 and 1935, the main depot and operating centre of the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway ('L&B'), a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in north Devon, England. Pilton station was served by regular passenger services advertised between 1898 and 1904 after which only goods facilities were provided. Passengers were catered for at the nearby LSWR station, Barnstaple Town, which provided connections with trains on the standard gauge branch line to Ilfracombe. The L&B's main offices were also based at Pilton, in a building formerly belonging to the Tannery which had earlier occupied the site, and which took over the site after the railway closed.
Copplestone railway station is on the Tarka Line serving the village of Copplestone in Devon, England. It is on the Tarka Line to Barnstaple, 14 miles 37 chains (23.3 km) from Exeter Central at milepost 185.75 from London Waterloo. The station and trains are operated by Great Western Railway.
Eggesford railway station is a rural station in Devon, England, serving Eggesford, the town of Chulmleigh and surrounding villages. Despite its name, the station is in the neighbouring civil parish of Chawleigh. It is on the Tarka Line to Barnstaple, 22 miles 27 chains (35.9 km) from Exeter Central at milepost 193.75 from London Waterloo.
Barnstaple railway station is the northern terminus of the Tarka Line and serves the town of Barnstaple, Devon. It is 39 miles 75 chains (64.3 km) from Exeter Central and 211.25 miles (339.97 km) from London Waterloo. It is managed by Great Western Railway, which also operates the passenger service.
Mortehoe and Woolacombe railway station was a station on the London and South Western Railway Ilfracombe Branch Line between Barnstaple and Ilfracombe in North Devon, England.
The North Devon Railway was a railway company which operated a line from Cowley Bridge Junction, near Exeter, to Bideford in Devon, England, later becoming part of the London and South Western Railway's system. Originally planned as a broad gauge feeder to the Bristol & Exeter Railway, it became part of a battle between the broad gauge group and the standard gauge railway interests. In this context, standard gauge lines were often described as narrow gauge.
The Exeter to Plymouth railway of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) was the westernmost part of a route competing with that of the Great Western Railway (GWR) and its 'associated companies' from London and Exeter to Plymouth in Devon, England. Whereas the GWR route from Exeter followed the coast to Newton Abbot and then went around the southern edge of Dartmoor, the LSWR route followed the northern and western margins of Dartmoor, passing through the towns of Crediton, Okehampton, and Tavistock.
Torrington railway station was a railway station located in Great Torrington, Devon. It was closed by British Railways in 1965 as part of the Beeching cuts.
Sampford Courtenay railway station is a disused railway station at Belstone Corner, which used to serve the nearby village of Sampford Courtenay in Devon. The village lies 3 minutes away by car or around 30 minutes by foot via the B3215. In 2018–19 it was the least used station in Devon and in the South West and the tenth least used station in Great Britain. In 2020-21 it was the joint least used station in Great Britain with zero passengers.
Instow railway station was a railway station in the village of Instow, North Devon, England, on the Bideford Extension of the North Devon Railway. Opened in November 1855, the station closed to passengers in 1965, but the line remained open for freight until 1982. The signal box has been preserved as a working attraction. The Atlantic Coast Express used to go through the station on its way to Torrington, but it did not call at Instow.
The Tarka Valley Railway in Devon, England, is a heritage railway that plans to rebuild the Torrington to Bideford section of the Barnstaple to Halwill Junction railway line. So far a short demonstration line of 300 yd of track in the direction of Bideford plus a siding alongside the old coal dock have been re-laid. The railway has been fenced off from the Tarka Trail ensuring the safety of all involved. Restoration of various items of rolling stock is currently under way.
