Barnstaple railway station (once every two hours) in the January 2018 timetable. Most services run to Exeter St Davids railway station and Exmouth. The railway between Exeter and Barnstaple is designated as a community railway and is supported by marketing provided by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership. The line is promoted under the "Tarka Line" name. Three pubs at Barnstaple are included in the Tarka Line rail ale trail. Barnstaple railway station Barnstaple railway station is the northern terminus of the Tarka Line and serves the town of Barnstaple, Devon. It is down-line from via . It is managed by Great Western
Barnstaple Bay. The name is first recorded in the 10th century and is believed to derive from the Old English "bearde", meaning "battle-axe", and "stapol", meaning "pillar", referring to a post or pillar set up to mark a religious or administrative meeting place. The belief that the name derives from "staple" meaning "market", indicating that there was a market here from the foundation of the settlement, is incorrect, because the use of "staple" in that sense is not recorded in England before 1423. Barnstaple was formerly referred to as "Barum", from a contraction of the Latin form of the name (ad