Penstone is a hamlet of some 21 houses in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England, about from the villages of Colebrooke and Coleford, close to the point where the

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

and former Exeter-

Okehampton Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 7,313, which was slightly more than the 7,104 recorded at the 2011 census. Th ...

rail lines diverge; the latter is now a freight line but there has recently been talk of reopening it to passenger traffic and extending it to

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

in order to avoid the shoreline track at

Dawlish Warren Dawlish Warren is a seaside resort near to the town of Dawlish, in Teignbridge on the south coast of Devon, England. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 1,190. Dawlish Warren consists almost entirely of holiday accommodation and facil ...

which has recently been washed away several times by winter storms. The nearest stations are

Yeoford Yeoford () is a village near the town of Crediton in Devon, England. It is served by Yeoford railway station on the Exeter to Barnstaple railway line, otherwise known as the Tarka Line The Tarka Line, also known as the North Devon Line, ...

and

Copplestone Copplestone (anciently Copelaston, Coplestone etc.) is a village, former manor and civil parish in Mid Devon in the English county of Devon. It is not an ecclesiastical parish as it has no church of its own, which reflects its status as a r ...

. Penstone residents maintain the Penstone Glade, a community space for the hamlet in the angle of the tracks and adjacent to the River Yeo (one of many such in the southwest of England), and organise a variety of events there. Penstone is built on the south-facing slopes of the hills to the north of the river, with views to Colebrooke and

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, South West England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite that forms the uplands dates from the Carb ...

in the distance.

References

Hamlets in Devon {{Devon-geo-stub