Chapelton - Least Used Station in Devon

It's time to finally tick off Devon! Whilst down in Exeter to see the new Marsh Barton station, it made sense to take a trip up the Tarka Line to Chapelton and properly spend time there to see what's there - if anything? Oh and Rob came along as my guest too ...
The ORR Estimates of Station Usage are here: dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statist...

[@neilbain8736]

Getting invited into the station house was one of the nicest spontaneous to happen. The enthusiasm really swept you off your feet.

[@SOOKIE42069]

geoff's expression of pure joy when he opened the ticket window was heartwarming af

[@stevelknievel4183]

I wasn't the person who bought a season ticket from Chapelton but I really wish I was.

[@paultidd9332]

I have to say this is a brilliant video for just the spontaneity - all very amusing! Perhaps there could be a new series breaking out of visiting old/ex-station houses now occupied. Meet the owners, tour, what original features exist, etc.

[@mouselovinlady]

I quite like the added mystery of the disembodied voices of the owners!

[@FadeOutLetters]

As a Devonian, been waiting a long time for this one. Good on Mr and Mrs Lewis for representing the county so well!

[@tajulislam1522]

Yaay, Least Used Station still going strong 💪🏽. I think I say this for everyone here, but please don't let this series come to an end!

[@fussyboy2000]

Everybody needs to go to Chapleton so it's no longer the least used in Devon and Geoff has to go somewhere else.

[@jameswalker3611]

Technically Chapleton is my local station! I love using the Tarka Line. Thanks for uploading Geoff.

[@turboguy99]

Too bumpy

[@OneKnifeYeHand]

So you are the 0.38 passenger per day using the station? ;-)

[@Yournotsinginganymore]

Finally a new, least used station! Great work Geoff :)

[@alcaulique8358]

As someone watching from outside the UK, thank you for quickly including a global map. Very useful too understand where we are...

[@oeman7363]

I think the same when watching videos from mainland Europe, a good tip is to search the county and it'll give you the region of UK

[@AndyGabrielPowell]

Hi Geoff, Barnstaple was my local station for decades, and later, Umberleigh, when I moved to the nearby village of Atherington. My earliest recollection of travelling on the line was behind a Class 33 (!), but Class 50's were also seen occasionally. Loco working ceased due to weak bridges between Portsmouth Arms and Barnstaple. The Pacers were fun on the old short section flat rail, that used to exist between Portsmouth Arms and Umberleigh, but they were not as much fun as the swaying of the old Class 108 DMU's. BTW, the line is renown for its nearby pubs. (Check out Newton St Cyres, and Umberleigh for example.) One factoid - Portsmouth Arms - although named after the pub; the pub was actually named after the Earl of Portsmouth who, being very Pro-Rail, supported the building of the line but insisted on having a station at Eggesford as it was close to his home at the time. (Today, the house is a ruin). I look forward to a touch of memory lane when you revisit the line.

[@WCMLtrainspotter]

Nice to see a least used station again! 2:09 Btw, the 158s are Express Sprinters, the 156s are Super Sprinters

[@richallen3369]

Love a bit of Least used Station! 👍🏻

[@zawtowers]

The main road close by is the A377, which runs from Exeter to Barnstaple, so pretty much follows the railway line in parts also, as does the River Taw (which then turns left at Barnstaple and meets the River Torridge estuary north of Appledore and west of Instow. Notably also (as I was in Devon last week) Barnstaple has several buses marked as "rail link" services from the railway station - such as the 301 to Coombe Martin and 310 to Lynton/Lynmouth, to fill the gap where there are no trains. Really enjoyed this one, nice to see the Tarka line with plenty of its heritage signage, and the inside of the station house was a welcome bonus - full credit to the owners for allowing you access.

[@abigailjames7989]

You were talked about in New Zealand! I'm at a conference of boys' schools and was chatting to a friend from the UK, asking about her son. It seems he is preparing to do the underground challenge! I mentioned you and she said that, Oh, yes, her son had talked about you - the original holder of the record. See, you are all over the world! And I took the train from Auckland to Wellington - 10 hours, but beautiful views.

[@CameronJP]

I watch Geoff and I live in Florida.

[@tamara3984]

Is it a sleeper?

[@bikerpaul68]

@@tamara3984 Auckland to Wellington is a daytime train, the Northern Explorer. @FromtheWindowSeat has made a KZbin video about it.

[@OneKnifeYeHand]

@@CameronJP Same, except I live in the Netherlands. Granted, not that far away, but still.

[@farmerstephen]

Nice station and great to see Geoff so happy.

[@Luluxxxx]

Absolutely love your enthusiasm for everything, Geoff 5:47 😂 Life really can be one long adventure !!! I think most of us no doubt need more adventure in our lives …

[@MegaGraafschap]

This was really enjoyable to watch, what a fantastic house!

[@fuzzynutter8344]

Great video, I wondered when we'd see the next Least Used Station. And a big thumbs up to the residents of the old station house for allowing you in to have a peruse, they were brilliant!

[@rickyzuc]

This possibly my favourite least used station episode!

[@radders261]

Has to be the best least used station video yet!

[@symy92]

Loved this video! That was Geoff's dream house. The flowers and garden were beautiful. It should win an award. Prettiest Least Used Station Award??? Loved the broom and how truly blown away Geoff was by this station. Genuine enthusiasm.

[@anniesoernym]

That was just what I needed on a Monday evening, thank you Geoff! Love the Least Used Stations series! And Rob is back! 🎉

[@chriskrebill1842]

You find some awesome guests! And you're both so tall! Saw Rob having to crane his neck in the train!

[@ianmilne655]

When I drove that line we used to get one regular passenger, I think he owned the house.

[@DynamiteBobby]

More Devon content please, Geoff!

[@thisisjmx]

This video was an absolute joy. Thank you

[@CymruEmergencyResponder]

This is what I love about the rural railways, the people you meet on your travels. So lovely of them to invite you in.

[@squidgytop.2050]

I glad that You have continued the series hopefully you stations. I find these series fascinating. Keep up the good work excited to see more videos like this geoff well done

[@billtycoon3289]

Great to see Chapleton, one of my favourite in Devon. Just a side note to say that Copplestone is no longer a request stop as of May 2022.

[@johnscarsandstuff]

That was lovely. I've missed the "Least used stations" music. Getting a tour of the old station house was adorable. I love your enthusiasm. The Barnstaple line is so pretty, it's probably worthy of its own series.

[@MrGreatplum]

What a great video - I miss Devon. So nice of the station house owners letting you look around. I wonder who tends the platform flowers - it looks lovely!

[@RH-uo8wl]

When I did Chapelton late one evening back in 2011, the homeowner called out to me, concerned I might have got off at the wrong station. I wonder if it was Mr. Lewis back then? I only had a 30 minute wait before a 143 took me back to the bright lights.

[@markstramtrainbuscapades1729]

Rode a 158 down the Barnstaple line on e evening in 2021, and it was enchanting, the ideal unit for the line. Two day later, I rode one all the way from St Erth-Dawlish Warren, after a day in St Ives, and on that three hour all stop crawmwl through Cornwall, the legs did get stiff (padding was more comfortable than on the 802 we'd come down on, though!) Still, at Dawlish Warren, we were only three minutes walk from the flat where we were staying!

[@christopherbutler7588]

I would love to live in a old railway Station. Great video thanks.😊

[@shaunhenryengineering]

I love the sheer enthusiasm and joy for exploring 😂

[@VascoRoblox-yp5rw]

My favourite Least Used Station! Well done Geoff!

[@ps.montreal5551]

Beautifully kept station. Very interesting video. Thanks.

[@Sim0nTrains]

Making a clean sweep of the least used station in Devon! 😂 Really felt a action pack least used and a great video and really enjoyed the excitement of seeing a broom! Epic! :D

[@davidhamm7909]

I live in Devon and have only done the Tarka Line once.. It’s a great line. I must get back to it. I also did the Okehampton line once a few years ago when it was Sunday only.

[@praiserdusty]

The best least used station video. I always wonder what the station houses look like.

[@michaelmiller641]

What a wonderful video! Thanks Geoff, up to your usual standards, if not exceeding them!

[@xbx.trains2192]

Least used station is such a good series! Seeing these small stations which (some of which not all) have a lot of charm

[@strikeyz]

IT'S BACK!!

[@gordonfullerton5672]

This is the content we've come here for Mr Marshall. That was excellent, a visit would be fun👍😄😄

[@LKBRICKS1993]

Excellent video Geoff & Rob. The broom bade me laugh.

[@tardismole]

That is amazing. Shout out to the best couple in Devon, for sharing their home with 313k people on youtube.

[@jamesfoz]

I’ve missed the least used music! Love Chapelton, looks like my dream house!

[@nickcollins7568]

Geoff making a clean sweep of the least used stations

[@stephensaines7100]

Nothing to bristle at!

[@RichardWatt]

Geoff and Rob showed us how to handle it.

[@evah1928]

This video sure does me miss Devon (where I used to live!)…I can confirm everyone there is like that ;)

[@rubberduck3y6]

More Geoff and Rob adventures please!!

[@DavidJones-kn9zb]

Brilliant vlog Geoff. Have been waiting for this program for a while. It is certainly one of your best least used station vlogs.

[@braedonblake5535]

Yes another least used station video it has been ages. Thank you for this surprise video

[@robbiemorrison7085]

I did the hop out then hop back at Coombe Jct hlt in Cornwall in 2020, after the lockdown at Easter. But the guard was pretty chill about it as they had to put the token in so we could go down to Looe.

[@BritishBeachcomber]

Lympstone Commando station on the Avocet Line (Exeter to Exmouth) serves the training centre. In the early years trains only stopped there about 3 times a year. It now operates as a request stop.

[@tigermatt]

Although does it still remain a challenge to actually leave the station, with the gates often locked and keys in the gatehouse?

[@dazzlingdaz187]

Yes, I've been waiting for this one for ages. My nearest LUS. Might have to go on Sunday!

[@Veptis]

The least used station jingle stays in my head. It sometimes comes up. It feels positive.

[@hyperverbal]

I listened to a Blinkist and it really put in perspective why I like people like Geoff and people like him so much, KZbinrs are my celebrity rather than a cinema or just as equal. ❤ I see them differently with compassion and fond love for their movement through time.

[@hermionebenson8366]

Another lovely video. That house and the gardens are just wild. Also, I have to say this: the music for this series is like dopamine. It always makes me so happy. :)

[@krozjr5009]

Tried doing the Tarka Line in a day last year. It’s doable on the summer timetable but my day was scuppered by an “unexploded bomb” At Crediton. Once the trains were back up and running I decided to take a gander up the line as most of the request stops were still doable. I can THOROUGHLY recommend the three-and-a-half mile hike along a riverside and along country roads from Umberleigh to Chapelton. Probably the highlight of my day. Beautiful and remote spot. I really want to try the Tarka Line again, partially as an excuse to do Chapelton again! Could we perhaps get a better Summer Saturday service next year too GWR?

[@davidbassett4577]

A clean sweep for best Least Station Video & for friendliest locals!

[@MartinCook-kg1vn]

Shout out for Eggesford: where the tokens are exchanged. Splendid cafe with outside seating next to the platform. I stayed in a hotel where the line goes through ( above) the garden

[@barrydevonshire9749]

I love the broomcam . Long may it continue 😊😊

[@travellingjourneys7840]

I think this is one of the best episodes ever. :)

[@jakob2283]

I can say I’ve watched this channel long enough to hear this song again.

[@BritishAdam]

Great to see the least used stations back, i wonder how many have changed since last videos in x counties!

[@Saint_Dan132]

This made my year what a find. ❤

[@jonathanscripps917]

Made a good day even better Geoff and Rob, and, you got a consecutive pair of sprinters 958 & 959 for a nice bit of synchronicity 🤓

[@xanpagebrown]

I’ve been waiting for this one for a long time!

[@terry6131]

My local station, I live up the road that was seen at the top of the lane on the opposite side. Up until a few years back, (to the right of the access lane) used to be location for the Chapelton vintage steam rally

[@paulteelen4285]

What a romantic thing, little stations where the train only stops a few times a day and only on call. The Dutch railways are too efficient, all of this is gone. Every station has to have a minimum amount of passengers a day and a minimum amount of trains an hour. So all very small stations disappeared. What we call a least used station is a central station on a line such as in Devon 😉. Cherish what you’ve still got….

[@lennertvdwerf]

This video is a sweeping succes

[@djappnew]

Noticed the Station sign on the used open platform still says First Great Western as opposed the GWR branding. Great video guys!

[@PamelaBane]

I will look forward to you to-ing and fro-ing along the request stops on this line. hank you for another least used station video

[@a_haytcha]

Love his videos

[@stephenlarking2247]

If that house ever comes up for sale I’m buying it!

[@alanreader4815]

looks loveky thanks for this

[@fredtracy1673]

I've been waiting for this, Devon is where my family emigrated from to Canada. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇨🇦

[@alexdavis5766]

We looked at a house near this station, I impressed the estate agent with my least used station knowledge and could have been on the few adding to the statistics for this station. Also looked at one near the Somerset least used station too. Very sad we didn’t get that house 😢

[@duragamer132]

Thinking about the single train to Axminster, SWR should do trains down the Tarka and to Okehampton as it's on the L&SWRs old line

[@jamescorr9383]

Another great video thanks

[@marthaanderson2656]

seems like a long time since we have heard this music . What a unique station. I wonder how many people WILL show up this weekend

[@rosiefay7283]

British rail stations named after pubs. Portsmouth Arms. Berney Arms (no matter that the pub's closed, the station was named after it and that's good enough for me). Bat & Ball (same deal). Craven Arms, sort of (station named after town named after hotel). Angel (Tube). Any more?

[@arabianrailfan7762]

Elephant and Castle (tube)

[@tantive4]

Bat and Ball, Bay Horse, Blue Anchor And that’s just the Bs!

[@MannyAntipov]

New Cross Gate was renamed that after the local pub.

[@bentilbury2002]

The Engine in Baldock. Amazing coincidence that they built a station right next to it. 😉

[@Eric_Hunt194]

Nelson in Lancashire. The settlement was originally called Marsden, when the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway opened the station they called it Nelson after a nearby pub because they already had a Marsden station in West Yorkshire. Over the years, the town took on the name of the station as it grew.

[@timwillett7802]

Love Rob! 🥰

[@samstrainthings7540]

I really wanted to be there its local but I missed it 😰 Who wants to see geoff get a gold play button soon?

[@capturedlondon]

Lovely stuff

[@TwmUkLive]

What a lovely station house, so glad the current owners have kept it in that condition even with a serving window

[@lawrencemorriss9018]

I spent the last year travelling infrequently from Newton St Cyres, you can pretty much tell if it's a 150 then it's an Okehampton train and a 158 it's a Barnstaple service, but thanks for answering the riddle of what happens to that Axeminster train, I see it everyday on my train home and couldn't see what happened to it in the timetable after that as there's no (GWR) return from Axeminster to Exeter

[@railotaku]

I understand it spends an hour in the loop at Chard. It mostly operates to keep crews current on the diversion via Yeovil but gives an extra peak departure from Exeter

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Nice to see some Devon Discourse. Also, happy to see another Least Used Station video. #WhenInDevon

[@mrcogginsgarage7062]

What's the betting that Geoff lifted the end of the platform up and swept the dirt underneath!😉

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

Amazing! (Esp. the station house.)

[@jamesperrin3255]

I live in south Devon (been to chapelton many times lol) and the sawmill has made loads of gates around my area and it has their logo on it

[@philipbrailey]

Great video Geoff 🇦🇺

[@hectorthorverton4920]

Only a few years ago the Devon Least Used Station was Newton St. Cyres, probably because very few trains stopped there. The arrival of the Okehampton service more than trebled the service, allowing the baton to be handed to Chapelton. New series on Stations With Nice Gardens? Perhaps not an immediate priority, but both these stations figure.

[@johnlladron735]

Thanks for another great video, interesting stuff. Devon is a great county as well. Pity about the 158, noisy whining would drive me round the bend. The curse of coach-mounter motors. It was quieter in the vestibule!

[@geertmarien9076]

Awesome! Thanks!

[@Shuttlefield]

I have to say Geoff I have used this station whilst holidaying locally - in the 1980's1 - train in to Exeter and then returned to Umberleigh

[@v88krb]

Geoff, wow. In 1989 I was moved to Barnstaple with my work and we had the opportunity to buy Chapelton Station House which, at that time, was a failed timeshare comprising the house and an apartment facing the garden. We chose not to buy mainly because our children were 8 and 12 and we could foresee we’d be a taxi service into town many times a day in the months and years ahead. It is really strange that the current owners are the Lewis family who moved us when we left Barnstaple in 1997! Happy days!

[@oldfart6318]

Terrific.

[@robinbebbington7004]

Nice video btw mate 👍

[@roberttfoley]

Hearing Geoff call his guest “Robert Thomas” feels exactly like my mother calling me by my first and middle names