How to find us in Exeter
If you are planning to visit us in Exeter find out how below.
By walking or cycling
Pedestrian/cycle links with safe crossing facilities have been provided from the Met Office site to Honiton Road and Hill Barton Road (adjacent to the site), and to Honiton Road Park and Ride.
Typical walking times and distances from the Met Office site are:
- to Honiton Road Park and Ride: 10 minutes (700 m)
- to Pinhoe Station: 20-25 minutes (1.5 km)
- to Digby and Sowton Station: 25 minutes (2 km)
Plan your bike journey to the Met Office using the CycleStreets journey planner
By rail
Frequent direct services operate to Paddington and Waterloo stations in London to Exeter St Davids and Exeter Central. A typical journey from London to Exeter takes around 2 hours 15 minutes, and from the Midlands around 2 hours 30 minutes. See By Bus section for bus connections from these train stations.
The 56 bus operates approximately hourly from the station and passes through the Met Office site, and continues on to Exeter Airport. Journey time approximately 26 minutes.
The stations closest to the Met Office site are Pinhoe station to the north and Digby and Sowton station to the south. Note: these stations are not serviced as frequently as Exeter St Davids.
Pinhoe can be reached from London Waterloo from the east or Exeter St Davids from the west and south. It is possible to travel direct to Digby and Sowton without changing trains from stations on the Paignton line.
By bus and coach
Travelling to the Met Office by bus is simple, easy and convenient.
There are many buses operating across Exeter, so you can travel from the city centre and beyond.
The buses that operate are:
- Red Park and Ride
- 56 Airport CONNexeIONS
- 4 Service
- L Service
To plan your journey, download the Stagecoach mobile app. The app provides bus tracking, journey planning, live bus information and ticket purchasing options.
If you’re travelling from further away, Stagecoach operates the 24-hour South West Falcon coach service. This travels between Plymouth, Exeter, Bristol Airport and Bristol City Centre.
The Falcon serves the Honiton Road Park and Ride stop, just outside the Met Office, in both directions.
Visit the Stagecoach website for more information and to plan your journey.
By road
From the north and from the south and west
- Leave at junction 29 of the M5 motorway.
- Turn right at the end of the motorway slip road and go straight across the first roundabout.
- Take the second turning on the right into FitzRoy Road.
- Follow the road around the Met Office building.
From the east
- Follow the A30 under the M5.
- Go straight across the first roundabout.
- Take the second turning on the right into FitzRoy Road.
- Follow the road around the Met Office building.
By air
Most international flights arrive at London Heathrow (180 miles from Exeter), however, there are several flights daily from Paris and Amsterdam to Bristol Airport (66 miles from Exeter). New flight routes to Exeter Airport (two miles from the Met Office) are regularly introduced. Flybe flies direct from Exeter Airport to Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport and Amsterdam.
From Exeter Airport
- Follow the A30 and the road signs towards Exeter city centre.
- After going under the M5, go straight across the first roundabout.
- Take the second turning on the right in FitzRoy Road.
- Follow the road around the Met Office building.
From Bristol Airport
Take the South West Falcon bus service from Bristol Airport to the Honiton Road Park and Ride stop, from which it is a 10-minute walk to the Met Office. Journey time takes around 1hour 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Alternatively take the bus from Bristol Airport to Bristol Temple Meads railway station. The bus runs every 20 minutes and the journey takes about 25 minutes. Full timetable available at the Bristol Airport website. There are regular trains to Exeter St Davids from Bristol Temple Meads station (about one per hour). Train journey takes about an hour.
From Heathrow Airport
The Heathrow Express train departs Heathrow Airport for London Paddington rail station every 15 minutes. Journey time is between 15 and 23 minutes. A typical journey from Paddington to Exeter St Davids takes as little as 2 hours 15 minutes.
An alternative is to get the Railair coach service to Reading, where all the trains between London Paddington and Exeter stop. The service operates every 20 minutes and the journey time is between 40 minutes and 1 hour.
There are about 12 National Express coaches a day between Heathrow Airport and Exeter bus station. The journey time is 3.5 to 4 hours.
From Gatwick Airport
Take the train from Gatwick Airport to Reading. This train runs hourly and takes about 75 minutes. From Reading there is a frequent service to Exeter St Davids (journey time about two hours).
