Our journey on the old Plymouth to Launceston branch line takes us on to Liddaton, which was just past Lydford.
Liddaton Halt opened on the 4th April 1938, and was fairly close to the village of Coryton, which was the next stop on the line.
The halt served the farming communities of East and West Liddaton, Liddaton Green, and Bowdenhill, all located south of the halt. It was just along the byroad from Broadpark to the west side and Higher Woodpark to the right.
It was the last station/halt to be built in Devon by the GWR.
Photos of Liddaton
Sadly, there aren’t many images of the halt. It was small, quaint, and didn’t leave a huge mark on the branch line.
Someone took this stunning photo in the 1940s. It shows Liddaton Halt with an up train arriving to pick up a lady passenger. Just behind the halt, the byroad appears, along with a motor car from that period. Image by Chapman & Son.
A photographer took another study on the Coryton to Lydford Green girder bridge: a general view of the halt, with the stunning view over the moors in the background. Taken in the 1940’s. Image by Chapman & Son.
From the other side of the line, you can see that Liddaton Halt was a timber construction. Up trains had to climb at 1 in 55 when departing from Lydford. Image by Lens of Sutton.
Sadly, toward the end of the use, a Midland class II tank No 41283 halts for photos a Liddaton on the 5th of September 1965. It was hauling the Launceston the Launceston Branch Centenary Special run by the GW Society (SW Group). The late T. W. E. Roche can be seen just above the cab strolling along the platform. Image by R. A. Lumber.
Sadly, although initially the halt was called for, it found little use and closed in December 1962, when the branch line was shut.
Footage of Liddaton
In the video, Plymouth to Launceston via Tavistock South, dad and I found some movie footage of the halt. It’s not a lot, just a minute or so, but we’re so glad someone took their cine camera out when it was in use.
Liddaton Today
As I said, the halt was small, but important to the local area. Today, there is nothing left of the line or the halt, just an outline of where the track bed was.
Standing on the bridge, looking down towards where the halt was, you can see the faint outline of the track bed, and an incline to where the station stood. The area now seems to be in private hands.
This time, standing on the byroad, looking towards the bridge, where the halt used to be. Sadly, there is no indication a halt once existed.
Comparing the then and now, the first image was taken around the 1940’s, when the halt was shiny and new. Today, in 2026, as you can see, barely a trace of it is left.
Next Up
Next on the Plymouth to Launceston was Coryton. However, looking back, I seemed to have missed Marsh Mills and Plym Bridge, so I will be looking at them as well.
As always, thank you to Anthony Kingdom for the use of his images from his book The Plymouth Tavistock and Launceston Railway. Also, thank you to Middleton Press for use of their images.
Until next time, happy memories down these forgotten lines.
