Pictures

This is an aerial view of the northern side of Barnstaple with the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway operational headquarters with the company's offices, engine and carriage sheds and workshops in the Pilton Yard in the foreground. It was one of several aerial views taken by R L Knight in the 1920s. Rolle Quay is in the background and in the foreground are parts of Yeo Vale where many of the railway workers lived. The railway ran from Lynton to Barnstaple on a narrow gauge track from 1898-1935 after which it was dismantled. Unfortunately the company's offices, engine and carriage sheds and workshops were destroyed by fire in 1992.

The terminus of the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway was Barnstaple Town Station (now a special school) where it met the Ilfracombe line, having continued across Pilton Causeway along the bank of the River Yeo and round North Walk. The aim of the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway is to rebuild the railway to Barnstaple and the new terminus will be constructed in the Pilton Yard which is currently a car park.

For more about the railway go to www.lynton-rail.co.uk/.

Thanks to Albert Linacre for this photograph and Tony Nicholson for information about the railway.