It is on the Tarka Line to Barnstaple, 29 miles 8 chains (46.8 km) from Exeter Central at milepost 200.5 from London Waterloo.

[1] The 4th Earl of Portsmouth built the turnpike between Exeter and Barnstaple and was later a supporter of proposals for a railway along the same route.

[2] It was at this spot that the North Devon Railway opened a station in September 1855,[3] more than a year after it started running trains through the site.

It had a small passing loop and a single long siding at the south end for goods traffic.

Only a limited number of trains (four or five each way Sundays and less on other days) between Barnstaple and Exeter Central call at Portsmouth Arms and this is only on request to the conductor or by signalling the driver as it approaches.