Woody Bay, within the Exmoor National Park, is a station on the former Lynton and Barnstaple Railway, a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in North Devon. The station was situated inland, about 1 1/2 miles from Woody Bay itself.
It opened with the line (as Wooda Bay until the name was changed in 1901) on 11 May 1898. The station building was designed by Jones of Lynton in a similar style to Lynton Town Hall. [1]
Woody Bay station was built in part to serve the expected development of a resort at Woody Bay, a mile or so to the north. A pier was built in the bay, although little further development took place, and the pier was destroyed by heavy seas before any trade could be established with passing steamers, and the development was abandoned when the promoter went into liquidation in 1900, and although a route was surveyed for a branch line to the bay, it was never constructed.
From 1923 the line was operated by the Southern Railway. [2] It closed on 29 September 1935.
Following purchase by the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Company in 1995, restoration of the station began, and it opened as a Visitors' Centre in 2003. An "out and back" service over a few hundred yards of track began in 2004, and with the opening of a temporary station at Killington Lane about a mile towards Parracombe Halt, a regular "point to point" service started in 2006.
Several trees have grown in the intervening years, but these two photos, taken over a hundred years apart, are still recognisably from the same location (except being taken from opposite sides of the building and different ranges). The carriage shed built into the cutting beyond the station is a portable structure erected in 2003.
The L&B Route | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Then and now | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Distances from Barnstaple in miles+chains) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Woody Bay station is at: grid reference SS68254641
| Preceding station |  Heritage railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Killington Lane | Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (2004-) | Terminus | ||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Parracombe Halt | Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (1898-1935) | Caffyns Halt | ||
North Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. North Devon Council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as a merger of the Barnstaple municipal borough, the Ilfracombe and Lynton urban districts, and the Barnstaple and South Molton rural districts.
The A39 is an A road in south west England. It runs south-west from Bath in Somerset through Wells, Glastonbury, Street and Bridgwater. It then follows the north coast of Somerset, Devon and Cornwall through Williton, Minehead, Porlock, Lynmouth, Barnstaple, Bideford, Stratton, Camelford, Wadebridge and St Columb Major. It then joins the route of the A30 road for around 5 miles (8.0 km), re-emerging near Zelah to head for the south Cornish coast via Truro and Falmouth.
The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (L&B) opened as an independent railway in May 1898. It was a single track, 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in narrow gauge railway and was slightly over 19 miles (31 km) long running through the rugged and picturesque area bordering Exmoor in North Devon, England. Although opened after the Light Railways Act 1896 came into force, it was authorised and constructed prior to that act. Therefore, as with all other railways, it was authorised under its own Act of Parliament and built to higher standards than similar railways of the time. In the United Kingdom it was notable as being the only narrow gauge line required to use main-line standard signalling. For a short period the line earned a modest return for shareholders, but for most of its life the L&B made a loss. In 1923, the L&B was taken over by the Southern Railway, and eventually closed in September 1935.
The Tarka Trail is a series of footpaths and cyclepaths around north Devon, England that follow the route taken by the fictional Tarka the Otter in the book of that name. It covers a total of 180 miles (290 km) in a figure-of-eight route, centred on Barnstaple.
Woody Bay is a bay on the North Devon coast of England, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Lynton and 8 miles (13 km) east of Combe Martin with a stony beach. It lies in the civil parish of Martinhoe at the edge of the Exmoor National Park and is a waypoint on the South West Coast Path. There were once plans to develop the area to become a holiday resort.
Blackmoor railway station, situated near to Blackmoor Gate at the western boundary of Exmoor National Park, England, was a station on the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway, a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in North Devon.
Bratton Fleming railway station is a former station on the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway in England, a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in North Devon. The station served the village of Bratton Fleming. It opened with the line on 11 May 1898, and closed with it after service on 29 September 1935. From 1923 until closure, the line was operated by the Southern Railway.
Caffyns Halt was a halt on the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway, a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor, England, from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in North Devon. The station primarily served Caffyns Golf Links, as well as the rural area near the hamlet of Dean. It opened in 1907, and closed on 29 September 1935. From 1923 until closure the line was operated by the Southern Railway.
Chelfham railway station was a station on the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway, a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in North Devon, England. The station stood at the head of the spectacular Chelfham Viaduct, and served the village of Chelfham below.
Lynton and Lynmouth railway station was the terminus of the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway, a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in North Devon, England. The station served the twin towns of Lynton and Lynmouth.
Parracombe railway station was a halt on the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in North Devon, England. The Halt which served the village of Parracombe comprised a simple wooden shelter and was not opened until 1 May 1899 — almost a year after the line was opened on 16 May 1898 — and closed along with the rest of the railway on 29 September 1935. It is planned this station will be reopened next by the Lynton & Barnstaple Trust. It will replace the station at Killington Lane a bit further to the north that was opened in 2006.
Snapper Halt railway station was a station on the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway, a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in North Devon, England. The station served a rural area near the hamlet of Snapper.
Barnstaple Town railway station was an intermediate station on the L&SWR line to Ilfracombe, England.
The Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway is a water-powered funicular railway joining the twin towns of Lynton and Lynmouth on the rugged coast of North Devon in southwest England.
Pilton Yard, in Barnstaple was, between 1898 and 1935, the main depot and operating centre of the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway ('L&B'), a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in north Devon, England. Pilton station was served by regular passenger services advertised between 1898 and 1904 after which only goods facilities were provided. Passengers were catered for at the nearby LSWR station, Barnstaple Town, which provided connections with trains on the standard gauge branch line to Ilfracombe. The L&B's main offices were also based at Pilton, in a building formerly belonging to the Tannery which had earlier occupied the site, and which took over the site after the railway closed.
Killington Lane is a temporary terminus about one mile (1.6 km) southwest of Woody Bay on the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (L&B), the narrow gauge line that originally ran for 19 miles (31 km) through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in North Devon.
The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Trust is an educational charity supporting the rebuilding and operation of the railway by the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Company, in North Devon, England.
Kentisbury is a rural civil parish in North Devon, England, bordering the Exmoor National Park, consisting of three small hamlets, Patchole, Kentisbury Ford and Kentisbury, approximately 10 miles (16 km) north east of Barnstaple. The population at the 2001 census was 266 people, increasing to 299 at the 2011 census.
Lynmouth Bay railway station is a station in Lynmouth, Devon, England, served by the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway, a water-powered funicular railway. The station has two platforms, a ticket booth, not an office, a bench and plenty of room. It opened in 1890.
Martinhoe is a small settlement and civil parish in North Devon district of Devon, England. Martinhoe is within the Exmoor National Park, the smallest National Park in England. In the 2011 census Martinhoe Parish was recorded as having a population of 159. Martinhoe is in the Combe Martin ward, for elections to the district council. Martinhoe's local government takes the form of a parish meeting and as such has no parish council nor elected parish councillors.
