Okehampton To Bude Line - Location

Location

The Bude branch (as it is called for short) diverged from the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) main line from Exeter to Plymouth at Meldon Junction (50°42′40″N 4°02′43″W / 50.7111°N 4.0454°W / 50.7111; -4.0454 (Meldon Junction)), and ran to Bude (50°49′30″N 4°32′35″W / 50.8249°N 4.5430°W / 50.8249; -4.5430 (Bude station)) by way of Halwill and Holsworthy. The terrain it crossed was hilly, and largely agricultural, and population density was low. When the line was first constructed, Bude was not yet important enough to be an objective destination, and the line was at first built from Meldon Junction to Holsworthy.

The line was later extended to Bude; its location is in Cornwall on the Atlantic coast south of Hartland Point. The railway brought Bude prosperity as a watering place, and in the closing decades of the nineteenth century it became a holiday destination.