The Portsmouth Arms in rural Devon is so remote that the pub has its very own train station – and that’s far from the only unusual thing about this isolated drinking hole
Passengers can request a special stop at a unique train station that shares a name with a pub.
The Portsmouth Arms, nestled in the heart of rural Devon, boasts a feature not many pubs can claim – its very own train station. Tucked away in the secluded Taw Valley, it’s surprising that there’s a train station at all, given the pub’s remote location with hardly a house in sight for miles.
The station forms part of the Rail Ale Trail on the Tarka Line, which provides a suggested route for lovers of ale and trains to combine their interests. Running between Barnstaple and Exeter, it provides six suggested stops along a scenic route. The Portsmouth Arms has been named as one of the five best remote stations by Trainline.
READ MORE: ‘I went to city with pretty canals, bikes and less tourists than Amsterdam or Venice’READ MORE: Holidaymakers should watch for ‘apple pips’ in hotel room when they check-in
The pub that gives the station its name has a long history. Situated between the quaint villages of Burrington and Umberleigh, the pub was christened after the 5th Earl of Portsmouth, Isaac Newton Wallop, who was the heir to the Eggesford estate from a long lineage of earls. When the railway line from Exeter to Barnstaple was constructed in 1854, it sliced through the earl’s land.
As compensation, he secured the right to halt the trains for himself or his guests whenever he wished, ensuring a train station was conveniently placed next to the pub. Even today, trains continue to ferry patrons – and railway enthusiasts – for a Sunday roast, an evening pint, or simply for the novelty of catching a train to a seemingly deserted spot and strolling into a pub, reports Devon Live.
Steve Anscombe has operated the pub alongside his wife, Karen, since 2019. Becky Dickinson, a reporter at Devon Live, visited the pub and met the man behind the bar.
” Warm and jovial, he’s one of those publicans who was clearly made for the job; the kind who can make you feel like a local before you’ve even ordered a drink,” she wrote.
“‘You’ve still got your Christmas decorations up,’ I say glancing above my head. But it’s not an oversight. Steve tells me that when he took the decorations down a couple of years ago, people complained. So now he keeps them up all year round. Shiny baubles and silver snowflakes hang from the ceiling. Somehow, they don’t look remotely out of place.”
Distinguished by low ceilings and dark timber beams, centuries of heritage are housed within the thick stone walls. There are stories of mortality and whispers of scandal.
Throughout the years, the structure has fulfilled various different functions. It was initially the toll-house on the turnpike route between Barnstaple and Exeter, and legend suggests, it was also a brothel. A liquor licence was issued in 1869.
But this was merely a technicality really, considering that it was already a well-established watering hole. There have also been two recorded deaths on the premises. One – a woman – simply keeled over at the bar. As the pub was still unlicensed, this led to a lengthy investigation and autopsy to determine whether she’d been poisoned.
She hadn’t, but Steve is in no doubt that the Portsmouth Arms is haunted.
“He recounts a time he was playing darts when a figure in a flat cap and cloak – like an old-fashioned policeman – simply walked through him like a shiver, then disappeared through a wall. There have been other strange events too: doors closing without the slightest hint of a breeze, a coat of arms inexplicably falling from the wall with the nail still in tact, whispers in his ear. A number of times Steve has heard his wife call his name, only to discover she wasn’t even in the room,” Becky wrote.
In the summer months, the pub regularly hosts live music events, with the sound reverberating through the valley. Steve explains that the music can be heard for miles around and people have been known to follow it up to the pub.
The current Earl of Portsmouth no longer lives in Devon and has yet to visit the pub that shares his name and family history. Perhaps one day he’ll catch that train and raise a pint to the past.