Photo: Kabelleger / David Gubler, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsBrunel's railway along the Exe estuary and the open sea at Dawlish and Teignmouth, the most photographed stretch of main line in Britain.
The Riviera Line leaves Exeter along the west bank of the Exe estuary through Exminster and Starcross, with Exmouth across the water, to Dawlish Warren. From there Brunel's South Devon Railway of 1846 runs for four miles directly on the sea wall through Dawlish and five short tunnels beneath the red sandstone cliffs to Teignmouth. Winter storms have repeatedly breached the wall, most famously in February 2014; a new higher wall and rockfall shelter at Parsons Tunnel were completed between 2019 and 2023.
At Teignmouth the line turns inland along the Teign estuary to Newton Abbot, where the Plymouth main line diverges, and continues past Torquay to the seaside terminus at Paignton, where the Dartmouth Steam Railway takes over for Kingswear.
GWR local trains are Class 150 and 158 units; Class 800 inter-city trains and CrossCountry Voyagers also use the sea wall. Dawlish, Teignmouth and Torquay are all worth a stop.
The Exe estuary, the Dawlish sea wall, the Teign estuary and Tor Bay are all on the left heading south.
Sides are given facing the direction of travel. Miles are approximate from the start of the journey.
Yes, every Paddington–Plymouth and Penzance train passes through Dawlish; only the stopping trains call there.
The wall was rebuilt to a higher specification and a rockfall shelter added; services still occasionally pause in severe storms.
The Dartmouth Steam Railway runs from Paignton to Kingswear for the Dartmouth ferry on a separate ticket.
Scenic lineFour miles along the cliffs above Carbis Bay and Porthminster beach to St Ives, widely rated the most beautiful branch line in England.
Scenic lineA twisting single-track branch that reverses at Coombe Junction and follows the tidal East Looe river down a wooded valley to the fishing port of Looe.
Scenic lineOut of Plymouth beside the Tamar, over the 120-foot Calstock Viaduct and up a steep, reversing branch into the old mining country around Gunnislake.