South West Coast Path - Public Transport

Public Transport

There are regular train services from other parts of the UK to the south west, principal destination stations being Barnstaple, Exeter, Newquay, Penzance and Plymouth. From these places local trains or buses connect to many points of the path. Airports at Exeter and Newquay are served from a range of national and international destinations.

Using public transport for at least part of their journey means that walkers can plan walks which start and finish at different places, rather than have to circle back to their start point to collect their cars.

More than twenty railway stations give options either for short walks — such as Dawlish to Paignton — or for longer walks over several days. The West Somerset Railway offers steam and diesel services from Taunton to Minehead at the Somerset end of the path (using a connecting bus from Taunton railway station to Bishops Lydeard), and the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway connects Kingswear and Paignton.

Long distance bus services connect some coastal towns with railway stations:

• Bude to Exeter St Davids railway station
• Minehead to Taunton railway station
• Padstow to Bodmin Parkway railway station
• Westward Ho! and Bideford to Barnstaple railway station

A boat service runs down the River Fal from Truro to Falmouth and can be used as an interesting method to get to the path.