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Meldon viaduct

Grid ref: SX 5647 9234

On walking routes: West Devon Way

Main image: Photograph by Glavind Strachan Photography

Historic England's scheduling record (list entry 1002631) describes a 19th-century viaduct at Meldon crossing the deep valley of the West Okement River. It is an approximately 165 metre long wrought iron trestle bridge, completed in 1874 to carry the London and South Western Railway from Exeter to Plymouth. It is made up of two structures, each carrying a set of tracks, with six girder spans carried on lattice piers of flanged and riveted wrought iron. The tallest pier is about 37 metres high, and the whole stands on massive masonry footings. It lies in the parish of Okehampton Hamlets.

The railway line closed in the 1960s, but the viaduct stayed in use as a lorry road for Meldon Dam construction traffic until 1971, and for shunting goods trains from the nearby stone quarry. After refurbishment it was officially reopened in 2002 as a cycle route and footpath that forms part of the Granite Way.

Sources: Historic England list entry 1002631 (updated 16 November 2015), which cites PastScape 440878.

  • Period: Victorian
  • Status: Scheduled monument (Historic England list entry 1002631)
  • Grid reference: SX 5647 9234 (approximate, from the listing's coordinates)
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Photograph by Glavind Strachan Photography

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