Cullompton (pronounced Clumpton as in “Trumpton”) is not one of the top ten tourist attractions of Devon.   In fact it doesn’t even make the top 100.   It has a long main street and an ever-present traffic jam due to poorly coordinated traffic lights (aren’t they all in the West Country?).   However thanks to the 2003 Rural Bus Challenge, Cullompton now finds itself as one of the best connected towns in Devon.   The routes to Exeter and Tiverton were one of the 42 winners of the £2 million available, with the newly named Culm Valley Connect service gaining a massive £845K pot of money.   The old (54) service from Exeter to Cullompton and (373) Cullompton to Tiverton were merged to form the new 1/1B service doubling the frequency on both sections, giving a 15 minute daytime service from Cullompton to Exeter.   The route employs eight new Dennis Tridents which entered service for Stagecoach Devon at the end of October 2004.