Living in Halwill Junction, Devon

Is Halwill Junction a good place to live? Yes, if you want an affordable, friendly village with its own shop, pub and primary school, and a traffic-free trail on the doorstep. Halwill Junction is in west Devon, in the EX21 postcode, on the A3079 between Holsworthy and Okehampton.

Halwill Junction is a village built by the railway and kept going by its people. For nearly a century, trains from Bude, Padstow and Torrington met here. Dr Beeching closed the lot in 1966, but the village stayed, and it’s done rather well out of the old tracks.

It sits further inland than our other guides, and that’s where the value is.

From railway junction to nature reserve

In 1990 the Devon Wildlife Trust bought a stretch of the old trackbed and turned it into a nature reserve. It follows the course of the old platforms and lines, with a boardwalk at the start, and it’s open all year. Look out for wood white butterflies along the edges in summer.

The old line also carries a cycle path out to Cookworthy Forest, part of the Ruby Way. Flat, traffic-free miles for bikes, buggies and dogs, starting at the end of your road.

Village life in Halwill Junction

For a small place, it’s well served. There’s a village shop, a post office open on weekday mornings, a hairdresser and the Junction Inn, which still has old photos of the railway on the walls. The village football teams play on the pitch opposite and use the pub as their clubhouse.

Halwill Community Primary School is in the village, and Scallywags Pre-School runs from the village hall, so families with young children can do the school run on foot.

Homes and house prices in Halwill Junction

• Village homes: houses and bungalows built where the station and sidings used to be, with street names like Beeching Close and Station Fields to prove it.
• Older homes: cottages along the main road and in nearby Halwill, the original village about a mile away.
• Room to breathe: farmhouses, smallholdings and barns in the countryside towards Ashwater, Beaworthy and Black Torrington.

Being further from the coast, your money generally goes further here than in Holsworthy or Bude. That’s the trade-off: a longer drive to the beach for more house.

For the latest local figures every month, read Plot & Shore.

Living in Halwill Junction: quick answers

Where is Halwill Junction?

A village in west Devon, in Torridge district, on the A3079 between Holsworthy and Okehampton. Its postcode is EX21.

Does Halwill Junction still have a railway station?

No. The station closed in 1966. Part of the old trackbed is now a Devon Wildlife Trust nature reserve and cycle path.

Is there a shop in Halwill Junction?

Yes. There’s a village shop and a post office, which opens on weekday mornings.

What schools are near Halwill Junction?

Halwill Community Primary School is in the village, with a pre-school at the village hall. For secondary, Holsworthy Community College takes students from 11 to 16.

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About the author. Mat Loach has worked in estate agency for 20 years. He lives on the Devon and Cornwall border near Holsworthy, coaches junior football at Stanhope Park and is a governor at Holsworthy Primary School.

Sources: Devon Wildlife Trust; The Post; Post Office; Devon County Council; Wikipedia.