London Waterloo to Exeter

The Route of the Devon Belle

London Waterloo is one of London's grandest stations and is an important monument to Edwardian elegance. It is widely regarded as one of the most elegant and spacious London termini and its famous 4-sided clock suspended from the roof is a popular meeting point hence the famous expression "meet me under the clock at Waterloo station". A statue of Sir Terence Cuneo by Philip Jackson also stands on the main concourse overlooking the former Waterloo International. It was built by the London & South Western Railway (LSWR), the Great Western's main rival for services to the West Country. In its heyday, Waterloo was the starting point for journeys to Hampshire, Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, as well as a host of Home Counties commuter services. In its heyday London Waterloo was the starting point for such famous expresses as the Royal Wessex, the Bournemouth Belle, the Atlantic Coast Express and the Devon Belle. It was also the starting point for famous boat train services such as the Cunarder, the Statesman and the Holland American that connected with ocean liner services from Southampton Docks. From 1994 to 2007 London Waterloo was also the starting point for the international Eurostar high speed services through the Channel Tunnel to Paris and Brussels. However on the 14th November 2007 the CTRL Section 2 through to London St Pancras was opened and all Eurostar services moved to London St Pancras and ceased to use London Waterloo.

Throughout this “Through the Window” guide we describe views as being left or right from the train facing in the direction of travel out of London.

London Waterloo to Surbiton:

The train leaves London Waterloo's curving platforms, then runs parallel to the River Thames to Clapham Junction. From the elevated route there are glimpses of the Houses of Parliament, Lambeth Palace, the Tate Gallery, the London Eye and the river, and the train then passes  Vauxhall station and the new Covent Garden market at Nine Elms. As the train approaches Queenstown Road (Battersea), the skyline to the right is dominated by the 337ft, 1930s chimneys of the former Battersea Power Station (designed by Gilbert Scott), and then the train runs into Clapham Junction. A cutting carries the line past Wandsworth Common, and then the route is elevated once again as it crosses the River Wandle on its way to Wimbledon, where the station is shared with London Underground's District Line tube trains.  Wimbledon is also home to the world famous Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the home of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. At Raynes Park, the Dorking line swings away to the left, while just after New Malden trains for the Shepperton branch swing away to the right. The train crosses the River Hogsmill and then enters the long cutting that leads to Surbiton. The River Thames and the ferry to Hampton Court Park are only a short walk away from this magnificent 1937 built station designed by J.R. Scott. Surbiton's Art Deco clock tower and modernist façade make it unique in Britain.

Surbiton to Woking:

Leaving Surbiton, the line is elevated again, and remains so for some distance, offering good views of suburbia and, to the left, the distant line of the North Downs. Esher is the station for Sandown Park, with the famous Sandown Park Racecourse right next to the railway line. To the south of the town is the recently restored 18th century garden at Claremont. The train crosses the Mole, with its reservoirs to the right, and then a long wooded cutting takes it to Weybridge. After the station, to the right there is a glimpse of the River Wey Navigation and its junction with the newly restored Basingstoke Canal, while to the left is the airfield built on the site of the famous Brooklands motor racing circuit. Part of the legendary, steeply banked track can be seen from the train. The site is now home to the "Spirit of Brooklands" Motor Sport and Aviation Museum. The Museum is also home to one of the famous Concorde aircraft, Concorde G-BBDG, which now forms the Brooklands Concorde Experience. The line now runs straight to Woking, with a glimpse of the decorative 1889 Shah Jehan mosque in the woods to the left, just before the station.

Woking to Basingstoke:

From Woking the mainline westwards is remarkably straight and built for high speed running. Shortly after Woking the Guildford line diverges off to the left. Brookwood station was built originally in the 1850s to serve the huge cemetery being laid out by the London Necropolis Company. For many years the LSWR ran special funeral trains from London Waterloo. There are also British, American and Canadian military cemeteries here, mostly dating from the First World War. For this is primarily a military region, with the garrison and ranges of Pirbright to the left and Bisley to the right. Just after Brookwood the line to Alton diverges to the left. Then the Basingstoke Canal runs beside the railway line to the right, crossing the railway on an aqueduct shortly before Farnborough. The station is set well to the north of the town, which has grown up around the famous Farnborough Airfield - the cradle of British aviation - and once home to the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE), Trenchard House and its famous historic wind tunnels. This is now home to TAG London Farnborough Airport, the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (custodian of the site's historic buildings and aviation heritage), and the airfield also hosts the world famous Farnborough Air Show. After Fleet there are open views to the left southwards towards the Downs. Winchfield is a station with no real village, but more substantial is Hook, with its coaching inn and 1930s church by Sir Edward Maufe, the architect of Guildford Cathedral. A long, elevated stretch then leads to Old Basing, a delightfully attractive village set below the line to the left. At the centre is the big 16th century church, and all around are fine timber framed and tile hung houses and barns. To the south is the site of Basing Castle and House, destroyed in 1645. The train now enters Basingstoke, whose galaxy of glass towers and modern buildings fills the skyline. Just before the station the Reading line comes in from the right.

Basingstoke to Salisbury:

Leaving Basingstoke, the train passes the ruins of two chapels, Holy Ghost and Holy Trinity, visible in the cemetery to the right, and runs through Basingstoke's expanding suburbs. At Worting Junction the Salisbury line diverges off to the right under the Southampton line which is carried over it on a flyover. The train then runs through an open, rolling landscape, with Oakley's 1869 church to the left, towards Overton station. East of the station, which is dominated by the government paper mill where bank note paper is produced, is the source of the River Test and the line now follows the north side of the Test Valley for some miles. Westwards from Overton, cuttings limit the view and at Whitchurch station, too, little of the town, famous for its silk mill on the Test, can be seen. Leaving Whitchurch, the train passes over the remains of the former Great Western line from Didcot to Winchester, and then over the River Bourne, with its watercress beds. After a long cutting the train approaches Andover on an embankment. Clearly visible is the early Victorian church which was inspired by Salisbury Cathedral.

From Andover westwards the landscape becomes more open and approaching Grateley there are long views to both sides. The village, with its 13th century church, which contains some fine stained glass, is well to the east of the station. Crossing into Wiltshire, the train makes its way across the edge of Salisbury Plain, a countryside dotted with tumuli, barrows and other earthworks, along with military establishments. With Boscombe Down to the right northwards and Porton Down to the left southwards, the line crosses the Winterbournes, along the valley of the Bourne. The hillfort at Figsbury Ring stands to the left. To the right is Old Sarum. On the hillside to the right eastwards are the faint remains of badges carved into the chalk and then a tunnel carries the line under north Salisbury. The train crosses the Avon, with a view left southwards towards Salisbury Cathedral and then enters Salisbury station.

Salisbury's most famous feature is the spire of Salisbury Cathedral, which rises to a height of 404ft. Constructed over the relatively short period of 38 years, Salisbury has a unity of style that makes it distinctive among English cathedrals. The cathedral's library contains the best surviving one of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta. In 1386, a large mechanical clock was installed at Salisbury Cathedral, today it is the oldest surviving mechanical clock in Britain. Several rivers meet in Salisbury - the Avon, the Nadder and the Bourne - and their waters and backwaters give the city a particular quality that has appealed to many painters, notably Constable. Salisbury was laid out in the 13th century, a new town to serve the cathedral after the move from the fortified hill of Old Sarum to the north. As a result it is sometimes known as New Sarum to distinguish it from this Old Sarum.  It is still full of medieval buildings, including the Deanery and Bishop's Palace, the gateways to the handsome, walled Close, the Poultry Cross and a selection of timber framed houses. The world famous Stonehenge World Heritage Site is located 8 miles to the north west of Salisbury, the city, cathedral and Old Sarum are also key tourist attractions. Salisbury Racecourse lies to the south west of the city.

Salisbury to Yeovil Junction:

Leaving Salisbury, the train follows the valley of the Nadder with, to the left southwards, Inigo Jones's Wilton House of 1647 and the 18th century landscaped park, are largely hidden by trees. During the Second World War, Wilton House served as the Headquarters of Southern Command and played a key role in the preparations for the D-Day Landings and the invasion of Normandy. During this period famous visitors included Winston Churchill, HM King George VI, Charles de Gaulle and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Wilton is famous for its Wilton Carpets and once boasted 12 parish churches. However today only two survive, one of which is a colourful Victorian mixture of mosaics, marble and stained glass.

The Nadder valley, with its oxbow bends and pockets of woodland, is a delightful landscape and set in it are a series of traditional stone villages. Burcombe, to the left southwards, has a fine, arched bridge, and to the right northwards is Dinton, with the church and 18th century Hyde House forming an attractive group. Just to the west is classical Philipps House. With the wooded Castle Ditches hillfort to the left, the train follows the river closely to Tisbury station, passing close to England's largest thatched tithe barn.  Also near the station is Tisbury Church, whose waggon roof is supported by lively 15th century carved angels. With the river now little more than a stream, the train winds its way through the hills, with the classical facade of Pythouse dominating the hillside to the right northwards. The views from the train here are the very epitome of rural England at its most delightful and tranquil.

The landscape is now more open and rather remote as far as Gillingham, a typical stone built country town, with a large church and a mid 18th century silk mill. Just to the east of the station mounds mark the site of King John's hunting lodge. Leaving Gillingham, the line crosses the Stour, with good views along the valley. The river curves away to the left southwards and the encroaching hills give warning of Buckhorn Weston tunnel. The line here is full of up and downs giving it the roller coaster gradient profile that this line is famous for. The line then runs straight to Templecombe. Named after a former preceptory of the Knights Templars, the town is dominated by its church. The attractive station, marks the position of the former junction where the famous Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway (SDJR) line from Bath to Bournemouth used to connect with West Country services from London Waterloo. Sadly all this has gone and the Pines Express which used to use the Somerset & Dorset line is now no more and it is hard to imagine famous expresses like the Pines Express thundering through this once busy junction. Westwards from Templecombe the line runs through a more undulating landscape towards Sherborne.

Approaching Sherborne, there is a fine view across the water meadow of the infant River Yeo to the powerful ruins of the 12th century Sherborne Old Castle. Beyond, across the other side of the lake that is part of the landscape garden created by Capability Brown in the 18th century, are the distant pinnacles of the "new" Sherborne Castle, built for Sir Walter Raleigh in the 1590s.

Sherborne is a most attractive town and has an abundance of honey coloured buildings spread over the low hills to the right northwards. Within easy reach of the station are Sherborne Abbey, Sherborne House (Regional Centre for the Arts) and the famous Sherborne School, and many other attractions.