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It’s all well and good saving the Instagram reels of the UK’s best hidden hiking gems, but if your only method of travel is public transport, it’s usually too much of a faff to actually get to those trails. However, in good news for non-driving hikers wanting to explore Dartmoor, you’ll have more transport options from this summer.
A £15 million interchange is expected to open in Okehampton, Devon, right on the northern edge of Dartmoor National Park. Yup, that’s right, the setting for Sherlock Holmes’ Hound of the Baskervilles is getting far more accessible.
There are plenty of reasons to take your next stroll on the Okehampton side of Dartmoor, like hiking to the highest point in southern England, High Willhays, and spotting wild pedigree Dartmoor ponies. If walking isn’t adventurous enough for you, try dabbling in canoeing, rock climbing on the park’s tors or cycling across the historic Meldon Viaduct via Granite Way. Be wary, though. Legend has it that Dartmoor is haunted by pixies, a headless horseman, and several large black dogs.
The new station is called Okehampton Interchange, not to be confused with the nearby Okehampton. Boosted Dartmoor travel options aside, it is expected to make journeys more sustainable and accessible for locals and visitors, according to the project’s partners Devon County Council, West Devon Borough Council, GWR and Network Rail.
Construction started on the station in February 2025, and it’s the latest addition to the Dartmoor Line, which opened back in 2021 to connect people from Okehampton to Exeter within 40 minutes. Okehampton station is only an eight-minute drive away from Okehampton Interchange.
For those living in London, you’ll be able to escape city life to Okehampton from Paddington via two trains in 3 hours, with a 25-minute layover at Exeter St Davids.
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