Train services to Okehampton to reopen

[ninthace]

Good news for anyone thinking of using the train to get to Dartmoor
https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/dartmoor-rail-line-return-year-5194035

[gunwharfman]

My wife has a friend who lives at Hatherleigh and as a specialist Nurse has driven to and from Exeter for a number of years now. I wonder if this news will benefit her? My wife will talk to her later. But for people who travel to and from Oakhampton, I wonder if they will give us using their cars?

[ninthace]

Several new housing estates have sprung up around Okehampton.  I suspect many of the people who live there commute to Exeter and the reinstatement of the line probably has more to do with that than tourist access to North Dartmoor but the station is perfectly positioned for access to the moor.  The Tarka Trail leads from it up on to the moor, it is a belter of a route but there more direct paths if required.

[Jac]

Living in Exeter, a half an hour's walk from St David's (the main station), I can be in Okehampton in less time using the A30 even with the summer tourist traffic. If I drive to the station then parking is limited and expensive, added to whatever the train ticket will cost. So locally it will probably be more useful to commuter into Exeter
However, it does offer an excellent opportunity for a weekend walk across Dartmoor between Okehampton and Ivybridge main line rail station, wild camping or overnighting in Postbridge (pub, B&Bs and YHA).

[gunwharfman]

Having really enjoyed the Two Moors Way in 2019 I've got my eye on the Tarka Trail for later in the year.

[rural roamer]

Always good when railway lines/stations reopen. I suspect it won’t make access to start and end of Two Moors Way any easier though.

[ninthace]

Always good when railway lines/stations reopen. I suspect it won’t make access to start and end of Two Moors Way any easier though.

Given where the 2MW starts and finishes that is true

Apart from heritage lines, at present, there are no railway lines in Devon apart from the main line running via Exeter along the coast and then passing to the south of Dartmoor and the Tarka line from Exeter to Barnstaple.  Perhaps one day the whole line from Okehampton to Plymouth will be replaced and we will have to say goodbye to the Granite Way path.

[Jac]

Given where the 2MW starts and finishes that is true

Apart from heritage lines, at present, there are no railway lines in Devon apart from the main line running via Exeter along the coast and then passing to the south of Dartmoor and the Tarka line from Exeter to Barnstaple.  Perhaps one day the whole line from Okehampton to Plymouth will be replaced and we will have to say goodbye to the Granite Way path.

Don't forget the Avocet line from Exmouth to Exeter continuing to Torquay and Paignton where it links with the Dartmouth Steam Railway heritage railway.

[gunwharfman]

When I finished the Two Moors Way in 2019 I caught a bus to Barnstable (to get the train to Exeter) for me it a most entertaining ride, narrow roads, up and downhill, the bus weaving this way and that, great fun! The driver had such confidence in his ability and was really forceful in making everyone coming towards him reverse to find enough space to let the bus go on. I saw more than one car driver gnashing his teeth!

[Jac]

When I finished the Two Moors Way in 2019 I caught a bus to Barnstable (to get the train to Exeter) for me it a most entertaining ride, narrow roads, up and downhill, the bus weaving this way and that, great fun! The driver had such confidence in his ability and was really forceful in making everyone coming towards him reverse to find enough space to let the bus go on. I saw more than one car driver gnashing his teeth!

That route is a great ride. I hope you were able to sit up top in a front seat. I took this bus homewards after completing my first stage on the SWCP from Minehead and remember it as a white knuckle ride.

Incidentally, a bus driver in Pembrokeshire harangued by a reversingly challenged car driver informed us passengers that it is illegal to reverse a public service vehicle when in service. Not sure if it is true but we enjoyed an amusing few minutes at the car driver's expense.

[ninthace]

One gets used to reversing in this part of the world and I am constantly pushing the button that folds the wing mirrors in to prevent them being knocked off.  Personal best reverse in North Devon was the best part of a mile being pushed by the dustbin lorry. 

[Jac]

 

[/size]One gets used to reversing in this part of the world and I am constantly pushing the button that folds the wing mirrors in to prevent them being knocked off.  Personal best reverse in North Devon was the best part of a mile being pushed by the dustbin lorry. 

which brings me to something that should really be in the 'small rant' thread. Reversing lights.
Faced with a long reverse in a narrow lane to allow a big low loader to pass I gave the most embarrassing show of reversing not because I can't but because with varying widths of road and bends I just couldn't see. I have to reverse on mirrors so am facing  forward. With the lorry lights on I was blinded. When he helpfully switched them off I couldn't see without dabbing my brake lights. Then, a car came up behind me lights blazing in my mirrors.
The single little reversing light on my car is absolutely useless.

[Skip]

The single little reversing light on my car is absolutely useless.

Tis on both of our household's cars too (and on many other cars I've driven).

[ninthace]

My car has a reversing camera that also works in low light.  The picture includes a yellow frame that curves with the amount of lock you have on so you can see where you are going to end up - godsend on our roads.

[Casual Ambler]

The old reversing conundrum.......


Being a Devonian I suppose it comes slightly easier, with our narrow lanes. I see quite a number of drivers who cannot reverse or simply refuse to reverse 20 metres to the passing place or the gated entrance to a field, this always surprises me.They will sit there expecting you to reverse around a corner and 500 metres to save them from possibly scratching their car in the hedge.If you can't reverse you shouldn't be on the roads.
The general rule is if it's bigger than you you reverse or if there are more of them you reverse. I've seen a few Mexican standoffs drag on for 5-10 minutes.   
I have also seen people reverse in a zigzag fashion literally bouncing from hedge to hedge, they are invariably looking over their shoulders which doesn't help. You've got three perfectly good rear view mirrors why twist your head around.
Hopefully with more cars getting reversing cameras this will ease the problem.