A £500,000 MISSING link in one of the most spectacular cycle routes in the country is due to be completed by Easter, adding a new dimension to attractions at Okehampton Station.
Dartmoor Railway hopes the link between the station and Meldon Viaduct, which runs parallel with the railway line, will draw visitors into the area who want to explore Dartmoor on foot, by bike and train.
With the Dartmoor Pony steam train able to take bikes on board, visitors will be able to travel by train one way and walk or cycle back.
They will also be able to gain access to Dartmoor or to the National Cycle Network down to Lake Viaduct and on to Lydford.
David Payne, general manager of Dartmoor Railway, said he hoped the missing link in the cycle way would encourage more people through the system at Okehampton Station.
'We are building a platform at Meldon to link up with the path and cyclists will be able to access straight onto Meldon Viaduct,' he said.
'We now have a buffet as well as a visitors' centre at Meldon so there is plenty going on.'
Mr Payne said after a disastrous tourist season last year due to the foot and mouth epidemic, he was pleased everything was being done to attract tourists back.
'We are hoping for a good season and the cycleway certainly takes in some dramatic scenery, with Meldon Gorge and Dam and the two contrasting landscapes of moorland and pasture,' he said.
'This has been a partnership effort and it could not have happened without Aggregates Industries, who own the quarry and the railway line.'
The completion of the path, all materials for which have had to be brought in by train, will mean cyclists and walkers can avoid the current strenuous on-road section of the interim route.
It will also leave only 650m of the entire 15km route to Lydford still to be assembled.