Discovering the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway

In this film I visit several sections of the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (L&BR) to see what evidence still exists of the railway almost 90 years after its closure and to witness the miracles that volunteers have achieved on areas of the line.
The railway was a 2ft narrow gauge railway which connected the North Devon river-port town of Barnstaple to the coastal town of Lynton. It ran for slightly over 19 miles and passed through some of the most rugged and picturesque landscape in England.
It operated for a mere 37 years, opening in May 1898 and closing in September 1935.
After closure, the track bed was sold off piecemeal.
In 1995, Woody Bay Station was purchased by the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Trust and, after much effort, a short section of railway reopened to passengers in 2004. This was extended to approximately a mile in 2006 with trains now running between Woody Bay station and a new, temporary terminus at Killington Lane.
The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway also owns other sections of the original trackbed, and in 2002 Exmoor Associates was set up to purchase and maintain other available parcels of land on the route of the railway.
00:13 A potted history
00:56 The abandoned railway
01:21 The railway re-born
02:00 The route of the railway and current ownership
03:08 Barnstaple Town Station
03:50 Pilton Yard
04:21 Raleigh Weir
04:38 Raleigh Trackbed
05:47 Snapper Halt
08:05 Collard Bridge
09:00 Chelfham
11:57 Bratton Fleming
12:54 Narracott Bridge and Twitchen Lane
14:45 Blackmoor Gate
15:27 Woody Bay
17:35 Killington Lane
17:59 Cricket Field Lane Extension
19:07 Return to Woody Bay
20:37 Lynton and Lynmouth including the Cliff Railway

[@LockdownElectronics]

Excellent video, thank you :)

[@CaverKeith]

Pleased you liked it!

[@JustinFrazier_360]

Outstanding video Keith

[@CaverKeith]

Thanks Justin. It's only taken 4 years to make this one. 😀

[@ronbramley2981]

Great production.Most informative.

[@CaverKeith]

Glad you liked it!

[@AlanMclennan-n5j]

Great work Keith, we need more of these videos done.

[@CaverKeith]

Thank you. Hopefully there will be more to report over the next couple of years.

[@magnetometer100]

Excellent historical film. Well done Keith.

[@CaverKeith]

Thank you. It was a little easier to film than my underground videos.

[@JohnJones-l4g]

Minor error, the "Old Station House Inn" at Blackmoor is owned by a limited company and not the L&B Trust, although the Trust and it's members are the major share holders.

[@CaverKeith]

Thanks for pointing this out. I did send it to the L&B Trust for checking before I made the video public as I was very conscious of making faux pas. 🤔 If you haven't found anything worse than this, I'm relieved.