To Lynton and Lynmouth:
A North Devon Cliffhanger
27 July 2024
ABOVE: Filer's Travel SK16 GXV, a Wright Streetlite WF, passes the entrance to the Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway in Lynton, North Devon, on route 310 towards Barnstaple (although the route number is not displayed here). All photos in this article were taken on Friday 3 May 2024.
Is that a 5B or a 58? They both run from Exeter Bus Station so I need to be careful that I get on the right one - especially as buses here don't always pick up on the correct stand (as noted in this earlier article)...
ABOVE: Stagecoach South West 24150 (WA59 FXG), a MAN 18.240LF ADL Enviro300, stands away from public gaze in Exeter Bus Station prior to taking up route 5B towards Ilfracombe.
I'm heading to the North Devon coast this morning, starting with the 5B, one of the longer Stagecoach routes operating from Exeter. The full journey to Barnstaple takes two hours and 31 minutes, although I am only going to Bideford; a straight two hours away.
The 0830 departure is a (nowadays) lesser-spotted ADL Enviro300. These single-deckers were standard full-size buses - larger and longer than the popular Enviro200s - but in 2015, Alexander Dennis decided to make long wheelbase Enviro200s, and dropped the 300s from its range.
The bus has seven passengers to carry out of Exeter on this mild, overcast Friday morning. Various others will join for parts of the journey. The initial destination displayed on the bus is Crediton, a long, long way short of where it is actually heading!
It takes a few minutes to clear the school traffic in the city centre (especially near St David's Station where roadworks don't help), but we are soon into the countryside.
ABOVE: Somewhere between Exeter and Crediton, this is typical of the countryside along route 5B.
Route 5B is one of a quartet of related Stagecoach services than fan out north-west from Exeter. The core route 5 is a short and relatively frequent service (up to every 20 minutes) to Crediton. The 5A / B / C all duplicate the 5 before digging out their own trails deeper into rural Devon, with the 5A venturing out to Okehampton and the 5C to Chulmleigh.
All four routes pass through Newton St Cyres, a village on the road towards Crediton. Newton House was built around 1770 by John VI Quicke, the sixth Sheriff of Devon. Wikipedia suggests that Quicke's son found the location of the house to be marred by the presence of the busy main road, which passed almost next to the house and separated it from the parish church. His solution was to dig out a 50-foot-deep cutting, over which he built a private footbridge linking his house with the church yard. The house has since been converted into flats.
Crediton is soon coming into view, and, after traipsing down what looks like the approach road to the back of the local Tesco Superstore, we reach the charming railway station.
ABOVE: Crediton Railway Station
Seven miles north-west of Exeter, the town of Crediton saw a wool trade established by 1249, and the manufacture and trading of woollen cloth, especially serge, peaked in the 16th century, but had declined by the mid-18th century.
By the early 20th century, according to Wikipedia, shoe-making, tanning, agricultural trade, tin-plating and the manufacture of confectionery and cider were dominant here. The famous creamery / dairy in Crediton also sits in the town, but the company also ran a transport depot, in the goods yard of the railway station, to distribute its product far and wide.
We pass down a vibrant High Street, losing some of the initial group of passengers but picking up several new ones, including a couple of schoolchildren (probably late for school as it's gone 0900 now).
We now head into the beautiful Devon countryside, through Copplestone, where the 10th Century Copplestone Cross stands. A granite pillar, it marks the meeting place of three parishes, Crediton Hamlets, Down St. Mary and Colebrooke. It may have been put up as a memorial to Bishop Putta, who was murdered in 906 travelling between Bishop's Tawton and Crediton (source: Historic England).
ABOVE: Another view taken somewhere along the 5B, probably between Crediton and North Tawton
In the small town of North Tawton, there's a memorial to Ted Hughes, Poet Laureate:
After North Tawton, and having been heading broadly west since Crediton, we turn north. The village of Winkleigh is alongside the site of a former airfield, used during World War II by the Royal Norwegian Air Force as its main training centre in the UK. The site now houses the West of England Transport Collection, which reportedly stores over 200 cars, lorries and buses of historical interest, but, sadly, is not open to the public.
We take a long double-run - over a mile each way - to the village of Dolton. It is worth it, though, as passengers both alight and board. The town of Great Torrington brings a significant number of new passengers, many making the short trip towards Bideford.
In 2019, Great Torrington was reported by a University of Liverpool study to be the healthiest place to live in Britain, with "low levels of pollution, good access to parks, green space and health services". (The survey also highlighted the most unhealthy places, and the winner / loser was Spitalfields in central London.)
Two hours after leaving Exeter, the bus reaches Bideford, a historic port town, where I take a break. The bus is now showing "Great Torrington" as the destination, even though we have already been there and it's now heading for Barnstaple.
ABOVE: Stagecoach 24150 again, in The Quay, Bideford. The River Torridge is out of sight to the left, obscured from view by market stalls on the quayside.
I was last here in 2000 and it's pretty much as I remember it. The main road, Bideford Quay, passes down one side of the River Torridge, which looks spectacular here. There's a traditional river crossing here known as the 'Old Bideford Bridge' or the 'Bideford Long Bridge', which has 24 stone arches and is of strategic importance regionally; this latter point is reinforced, according to the Bideford Bridge Trust, by the discovery of Second World War German 'Invasion Plan' maps clearly showing the bridge as a target.
This major crossing was supplemented in 1987 by the construction of a new bridge a mile downstream, the Torridge Bridge, which also provided a bypass for the town.
ABOVE: The Torridge Bridge towers over the River Torridge in this view from the Bideford Old Bridge
Though the 5B continues to Barnstaple about seven times a day, the main service between the two towns is provided by Stagecoach routes 21 (from Westward Ho! - the exclamation mark is an intentional part of the name) & 21A (from Appledore). They provide a combined 15-minute weekday frequency over this section.
Well, in theory at least. My 21A is due at 1100 but there's no sign of it on the busy Quay, and it eventually appears about 10 minutes later, finally leaving at 1112.
But it's worth the wait! We cross the River Torridge and run along its eastern bank. As we approach the village of Instow, we can see across the river to the town of Appledore, where this bus will have started its trip.
ABOVE: Looking across from Instow to Appledore, where the Taw comes in (far right) to merge with and take over the Torridge (centre)
Instow stands on the estuary where the River Torridge meets the River Taw; the latter rolling in from the west to meet us and guide us into Barnstaple.
ABOVE: I believe this bus to be Stagecoach South West 15884 (WA13 GCY), a Scania N230UD ADL Enviro400. It passes along the Yelland Road near Fremington, en route for Appledore.
We're also following a section of the Tarka Trail with this service - a trail that follows the route of the fictional Tarka the Otter.
Tarka probably made smoother progress than we are, as set of temporary traffic lights outside Barnstaple holds us for several minutes, and extends the journey time of the already-delayed 21A from its scheduled 33 minutes to 42 minutes.
ABOVE: Crossing Barnstaple Long Bridge, looking broadly south-east
Another crossing of the river (the Taw this time, and its lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel), brings us into the town of Barnstaple, one of the oldest boroughs in England (chartered c. 930). A market was first recorded here in the year 1274. Its early success was trading wool, until the harbour was developed and the town turned its focus to the likes of shipbuilding, foundries and sawmills. This declined too, but the town was revived by the railways.
In the Town Square stands the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon, and next to it, the Albert Clock Tower, unveiled in December 1862 as a tribute to Queen Victoria's Consort, Prince Albert, who had passed away from typhoid fever exactly a year before.
I reach Barnstaple's Bus Station at 1154, and have time for a wander around the town before catching the bus I have been aiming for today - service 310 to Lynton and Lynmouth, due at 1250.
This is a new operator for me - Filer's Travel of Ilfracombe. The bus, one of only seven listed to this fleet on BusTimes.org, is a short ADL Enviro200. A sign confirms a charge for dogs of 50p per journey - interesting as most operators carry dogs for free as far as I know.
ABOVE: Filer's Travel WA58 NHV, an ADL Enviro200, pulls into its stand at Barnstaple Bus Station, working route 310 towards Lynton and Lynmouth
We leave Barnstaple with eight passengers on board and dive even further into rural North Devon.
There's not much to comment upon on this route, as we head through miles and miles of open countryside. Occasional villages are peppered along the way, including Goodleigh (with its Grade-II* listed Parish Church of St Gregory), Bratton Fleming (reportedly once the site of the "most beautiful railway station in England" - have a look at these online pictures and decide for yourself), and Blackmoor Gate, the western gateway to Exmoor National Park.
The roads are getting narrow again. Every day of my visit to Devon has featured at least one impossibly-narrow road, and today is not going to buck that trend. This time, it's the rural setlement of Parracombe, four miles south-west of Lynton. Not only are we squeezing through its narrow streets on a full-size bus, but there's a distinct uphill gradient.
ABOVE: Climbing through Parracombe
The number of passengers has been diminishing as the journey has progressed, showing the social value of this kind of supported rural route, and only two of us remain on the bus as it pulls into Lynton. From here, Barnstaple is 17 miles to the south-west, whilst Minehead, Somerset, isn't much further away, being 18 miles to the east. There is a summer 'Coaster' service that would get me from here to there if I wanted to, but I don't! I'm here for quite a different reason...
ABOVE: Lee Road, in the heart of Lynton. In the distance is the town's War Memorial, which sits in front of the Town Hall, just out of sight to the right. The title photograph for this article was taken from the bus stop in the centre of this picture, looking towards where I am now standing.
What a pretty town it is. Lynton sits directly above the neighbouring village of Lynmouth (of which more in a moment); the two settlements are separated by a steep gorge. The area is described as Britain's "Little Switzerland". The Two Moors Way walk, which will carry you right across Devon, coast-to-coast, from Ivybridge (near Plymouth), passes through Lynton and finishes in Lynmouth.
It's pretty quiet in the town, but I'm about to find out where everybody is...
ABOVE: Queen Street, Lynton
My reason for being here has been to visit the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway, the easy way to navigate that steep gorge between the two places. The entrance is clearly marked, and stands coveniently right next to the bus stop I have just alighted at!
It's a couple of hundred yards' walk to the actual railway. You know I said it was 'quiet'? Not here. There's a vast number of pre-teen schoolchildren gathered ahead at the entrance to the Cliff Railway. If they're all going down there it's going to take ages for me to get access to the railway car.
But, as I get there, I discover that they're not going down - they're coming up! The youngsters at the top are waiting for their friends to come up on the next journey. In fact, I gather it has only taken three trips to get them all up, so the many hundreds of them that I perceive there to be are probably only a couple of class-loads!
ABOVE: The Lynmouth end (ie, the bottom) of the Cliff Railway
One thing I do know is that they're having a whale of a time! Once the last group reaches the top, there's time for a quick group photo with the teachers and the operator, with the car forming the background! If you have one of those photos, that's me in the background, sitting in the car, feeling quite relived that I don't have to wait for all of the youngsters to get down first! I love to see schoolchildren on a trip like this - the kind of trip they will hopefully remember with fondness for many years to come.
The first view of Lynmouth, from the railway car, is spectacular:
So a few words about the Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway (excuse me going off-topic on a bus blog, but I don't suppose you really mind)... It's the highest & steepest water-powered railway in the world. With "multiple accolades", this 1888 construct operates using only completely renewable and sustainable fresh river water - each of its water tanks holds 700 gallons of water. There is 862 feet of track and an elevation of 500 feet (and I love that the website uses imperial measurements - my kind of people)!
Of course, it only takes a couple of minutes to ride, but you can always do it more than once... (There's some stunning footage of the railway on this video, starting at 46:42.)
So, at the bottom, stands the village of Lynmouth, straddling the confluence of the West Lyn and East Lyn rivers.
In August 1952, a "storm of tropical intensity" broke over South West England, causing a devastating flood in Lynmouth as a flurry of water, that had become trapped in a dam-like position in the West Lyn River above the village, suddenly broke free. Overnight, over 100 buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged along with 28 of the 31 bridges, and 38 cars were washed out to sea. In total, 34 people died and a further 420 were made homeless. The village was subsequently rebuilt with the river being diverted around the village.
The village today is charming - a lovely, remote holiday spot.
ABOVE: Lynmouth, looking inland
The village of Hollow Bay in "The Secret of Crickley Hall" by James Herbert is based on Lynmouth. The book brings together the stories of child evacuees during the Second World War with that of the 1952 floods.
ABOVE: Looking towards the sea, right in the heart of Lynmouth, where the West Lyn River (left) joins the East Lyn.
I am contemplating catching the 310 from here, rather than going back up to Lynton. I have found the bus stop...
ABOVE: The Lyndale Coach Park in Lynmouth, on the aptly-named Watersmeet Road, represents the end of route 310 (and 309), with the bus stop just visible on the extreme right of the picture
The bus isn't due for a little while but, worryingly, I can't find a track of it on BusTimes.org. In fact, there doesn't appear to be a 310 out at all at the moment. I decide to go back to Lynton (a second trip on the Cliff Railway). If the bus isn't coming for any reason, I'm not sure how being in Lynton instead of Lynmouth is going to help, but to Lynton I go!
What I have forgotten is that certain journeys on route 310 dig even deeper into the Devon countryside between Blackmoor Gate and Barnstaple and operate under the number 309, and that's exactly what has happened to the incoming service... As far as bustimes.org is concerned, the 309 is a separate route and the bus will not show up on the 310 map!
So I'm back in Lynton, where the 1521 service appears bang on time, to pick up a number of passengers.
This one is a Wright Streetlite WF (Wheel-Forward) - the kind of bus that was designed for exactly the kind of territory that the 309 / 310 operate through. The bus shows the National Rail logo in lieu of a service number - the service is advertised locally as an add-on to the Great Western Railway service from Barnstaple station.
Unfortunately the windows of this bus are FILTHY - no chance of a decent view on this return journey. Ah well, I'm ready for a snooze...
ABOVE: The very disappointing view out of the window on my 310 back to Barnstaple. This is Lynbridge Hill, about a mile outside Lynton, where motorists need to decide whether they are going up into Lynton (behind us), down into Lynmouth (to the left) or, as in our case, in the other direction altogether!
The bus passes through Barnstaple Bus Station / Town Centre and continues to the railway station, arriving at 1622, in perfect time for me to make a connection to a train back to Exeter. It's a decent load as far as the Bus Station, but I am the only one doing the last bit of the journey.
ABOVE: A view into Barnstaple station. Although there are two platofrms, only one of them has track nowadays.
It might be slightly out of town, on the far side of the river, but Barnstaple has a lovely community railway station:
ABOVE: This model train adorns the out-of-use platform at Barnstaple
I've done my last bus for the day, and a train now whisks me back to Exeter. What a great day! Lynton and Lynmouth are very remote, but make the effort and you'll be rewarded!
BELOW: An approximation of the journey described in this article.
