Guide to Dartmoor Public Transport
These listings are for Autumn 2026
Bus services are seasonal and the 271 Haytor Hoppa and the 171 "transmoor" bus have now finished for 2026. The Haytor Hoppa is likely to resume in May 2027 and it is unclear whether the 171 will run in 2027. The Okehampton train service remains a daily and hourly service.
To encourage usage of these services each database driven site page on this website now includes the nearest bus stop. Also this page shows what sites can be visited within 5 km of the bus stops: Table of sites close to bus stops on the 171/271 routes
News in 2026: £3 single bus fare to revert to £2; free bus travel for the disabled; new Okehampton Interchange train station
- The single fare cap on buses remains at £3, see: Gov.uk: £3 bus fare cap but the good news is that it is to return to £2 in Jan 2027 Gov.uk: £2 bus fares from January 2027
- Gov.uk: Free bus travel 24/7 for disabled people
- A new Okehampton Interchange train station opened on the 1 August 2026, see: Okehampton Interchange. The new station will be on the Dartmoor Line on the east edge of Okehampton. The stagecoach 118 service will change at the end of August 2026 to meet trains at the new station instead of at Okehampton. The 317 Bideford-Okehampton now goes to the Okehamton train station.
- A number of minor bus services (one or two weekdays a week) will be reduced and some ended on 1st November 2026. The only ones listed below that will change are the Country Bus 193 (Bovey Tracey - Haytor - Newton Abbot via Ilsington) which will no longer run and the MD Buses 671 (Okehampton - Newton Abbot Via Manaton) will be re-routed to cover some of that route and go via Haytor Vale & Ilsington to Newton Abbot, no longer serving Bovey Tracey or Trago Mills.
Public transport services all year round
There are some services that are available all year round. The best options out of season, or on week days, are probably the train services to Ivybridge and Okehampton. The 38 goes between Exeter and Plymouth with stops at Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, South Brent and Ivybridge. The 39 bus goes to Bovey Tracey from Exeter and Newton Abbot. The 38, 39 and 66 services run on Sundays (see table below of Sunday services). From Plymouth there are daily services to Tavistock such as Stagecoach 1 and the 118 service connects Tavistock to Okehampton. The 173 bus allows a good walk from Chagford with an evening return bus to Exeter.
There is also a daily bus service from Exeter to Moretonhampstead (Country Bus 359) and Newton Abbot/Bovey Tracey to Moretonhampstead, Whiddon Down and Okehampton (Country Bus 178). The 66 bus leaves early from Exeter and you can get off at Ramsley, Sticklepath or Tongue End Cross (for Belstone) for a more direct route on to the moor. The Exeter-Okehampton bus can be combined with the 118 to get access to the west of the moor (e.g. Dartmoor Inn) on a weekday from Exeter.
The Weds only MD Buses 671 (Okehampton - Newton Abbot Via Manaton) service can be useful to get to the Heatree Cross / Manaton area and on 1st Nov 2026 will pass through Haytor Vale. The 671 service can be used from Exeter when combined with the 359. It allows a short walk or a longer walk if you walk to Moretonhampstead or Bovey tracy for onward services.
For those using services by multiple operators (e.g. Stagecoach, Dartline, Country Bus and Plymouth City Bus), it may be better value to purchase the multi-operator Devon Day Ticket, which is currently £11 for adults, £7.50 for children, or £22 for families of up to 2 adults and 3 children (prices as of March 2025 - see Devon Day Ticket valid from 2nd March 2025 PDF flier). The other option is the South West Dayrider ticket valid only on Stagecoach buses. The South West Dayrider is £10 Adult, £6.60 Child, £20.00 Group (5 people travelling together).
For those using the 171 ("transmoor") from Exeter it might be worth getting the Country Bus Adult Explorer ticket which costs £8. The Devon Day Ticket is required if you are using other companies such as Stagecoach as part of your journey.
There are many good B&Bs and campsites around the moor and wild camping is permitted for back packers. If you want to explore the central moor out of season and you are not based in Plymouth or Tavistock you may need to stay overnight. The two pubs in Princetown have bunk house facilities and the Plume of Feathers has camping facilities at the rear of the pub (re-opened in 2023). If you are not a backpacker and you are not familiar with the concept of leave no trace then you will be wanting the comfort and facilities of a campsite.
The Tavistock Community Transport Association provide a weekday service around Tavistock and a once-a-month bus to Exeter, Falmouth (via Bodmin & Truro), Barnstaple and Torquay (via Ivybridge) on the first, second, third and fourth Saturdays of the month respectively. They advise booking in advance, see Tavistock Country Bus and Tavistock Country Bus Saturday Service. There are services on weekdays see Tavistock Country Bus Weekday Timetable.
Daily Okehampton Train Service
The daily train service is now cheap and reliable with hourly trains every day. A single ticket Exeter to Okehampton is £4.60 (£3.05), a return £9.20 (£6.10). The prices in brackets being those with a one third reduction with a Devon & Cornwall railcard which costs £13 for a year (prices as of August 2026). The railcard gives 1/3 off on journeys on off-peak journeys in Devon and Cornwall this includes an "accompanying adult" and "taking up to four children (aged 5-15) for a flat fare of £1 each, unless using a Ranger or Rover". Another option is to use a Devon and Cornwall Day Ranger ticket cost £17 (£11.30 if combined with Devon & Cornwall railcard), this then combined with bus journeys or cycling to get other train services. For further details see the Dartmoor Line.
The timetable is available for download here: Exeter to Okehampton (The Dartmoor line) and Barnstaple (The Tarka line) - PDF (Mondays to Saturdays & Sundays) or see GWR timetables.
A great job has been done to make Okehampton Station a nice place to wait for trains, with the cafe, Dartmoor National Park information centre, book shop and museum.
It is a two carriage train with space designed for 4 bicycles although it is quite spacious and fits more in the designated space. The popular Granite Way trail from Okehampton to Lydford is a great day out for a short easy cycle ride. For a longer ride there is the option to combine the Granite Way with the Drake Way from Tavistock to Plymouth for a train home from Plymouth or for those prepared for a tougher ride the NCN route 27 northwards through Hatherleigh and on to the Tarka Trail to Barnstaple for a train home.
Stagecoach 118 Service link to trains
The 118 bus service enables onward travel from Okehampton Interchange to Tavistock via Lydford and Mary Tavy. It is an hourly service with a bus that goes through Okehampton and on to the new Okehampton Interchange train station. For walkers this opens up walks to and from Sourton, the Fox & Hounds, Lydford and Mary Tavy. From Tavistock it will also be possible to use the Oakleys 98 bus for onward travel to Merrivale, Princetown, Two Bridges, Postbridge and Yelverton. The last bus back to Okehampton from Tavistock is early evening. Alternatively, the 98 bus leaves Princetown for Yelverton at 18.08 from where the Stagecoach 1 goes to Plymouth for a train home.
New bus connections at Okehampton station to and from Bude and Launceston
From Okehampton station there are buses to and from Bude, Holsworthy and Launceston, timed with trains. The Launceston service is financially supported by Cornwall Council and Devon County Council. See below for timetables for 6, 66 (was 6A), 118 and 306 which all now link with the train service.
For more details see coverage on Dartmoor Line: New bus connections at Okehampton station to and from Bude and Launceston
The Okehampton train service timetable from May to December 2022 is a convenient graphic and is almost identical with the current timetable with trains running one or two minutes later, so this remains a convenient listing - the official timetable is available here Exeter to Okehampton (The Dartmoor line) and Barnstaple (The Tarka line) - PDF.
Cycling
Options for cycling on and around Dartmoor have improved considerably because of the re-opening of the Okehampton train line. The Granite Way can be used from Okehampton as a day out returning via the Okehampton train. It can in turn be combined by cycling on beyond Lydford through Peter Tavy and on to Tavistock to connect with the Drake Way which heads through Yelverton and then downhill to Plymouth. Another popular route adds the Tarka Trail to form the Devon Coast to Coast from Ilfracombe to Plymouth. A shorter version starting from Barnstaple train station. There is some very useful information on cycling routes on the DNP website, see Dartmoor National Park - Cycling.
Bicycles on the local trains require no booking and space is first come, first serve. That includes the Exeter to Okehampton, the Plymouth to Gunnislake and the Exeter to Barnstaple train services. The high speed trains that go through Exeter to Plymouth require advance booking but there is also a local train, the local train that stops at Ivybridge on the way to Plymouth that does not require booking. In reality, it is rare that you cannot get a bike on any of these trains. On the high-speed train, you can guarantee a space if you book and probably get a space if you don't book and you are on your own. Obviously, if it is a sunny peak season bank holiday weekend in August and multiple family or big groups attempt to use the available bike space simultaneously then there could be problems. The trains on all these routes are at least hourly - so worst-case scenario on a busy day is you wait for the next train. The Gwr phone app allows booking of bicycle reservations as well as tickets.
See also: Cycling Book Review: Lost Lanes West
The information below was last checked for accuracy on 13/04/2026. Check with TravelineSW before travelling!
This public transport page attempts to document current bus and train services to Dartmoor. The services over the year have seen a high degree of chop and change which makes maintaining this page very difficult. Typically, many of the services are seasonal and will change in mid-September to a winter service. The advice on any buses or trains is to check before travelling on Traveline SW or National Rail Enquiries. Please feel free to contact the author with any updates or corrections - message via Facebook: Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks.
Useful Public Transport Links
Bus times can be checked on Traveline SW and train times on National Rail Enquiries.
Devon County Council provide an excellent guide to public transport, see Travel Devon. It includes Devon transport: Interactive bus map. With this interactive guide you can zoom in to see the area you are interested in and then click on the route number which then gives you the option to get the relevant timetable.
There have been a lot of road works in recent months and updates from Jan 2026 are available on: Travel Devon: Latest news and service updates.
The website Bustimes.org has a very useful interface for looking up bus timetables and bus stops.
Devon County Council produce printed bus timetable area guides once a year. These are distributed to Libraries and other local information outlets. See: View and Print timetables for Devon.
The Visit Dartmoor website has a very useful guide to transport, see: Visit Dartmoor: Travel information - Getting to the park
See also: Dartmoor National Park Authority: Travel Information.