Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

Or, going down a different route, you could demolish the conservatory, sitting room, porch/pantry and restore the building externally to 1930's condition.
You could then add a further bedroom and bathroom on the back of the building behind the existing kitchen/dining room which would then give 3 bedrooms with the 'new' bedrooms being hidden at the back of the building partially obscured by the trees and hedges. Interesting to kick some ideas about! Does anyone have a plan of how the station was originally laid out?

Keith

 

Hi Phil,

There is a link from https://www.lynton-rail.org.uk/ (bottom left corner) which takes you to https://www.lynton-rail.org.uk/page/route-mapped

There is a larger version of the same map here:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?msa=0&ie=UTF8&t=m&source=embed&ll=51.19591199999999,-3.8987730000000065&spn=0.043029,0.102825&z=13&mid=1ait_38mDALZOXlxQGr3tIdXDUSQ

Blue is EA owned land
Orange is L&B owned land
You can click on each section to get some detail, but you do have to zoom in a bit, otherwise you just get 'Line of the track' as the info.

Keith

 

This, though, requires expenditure of funds, whereas the idea in post 2401 would not. If eventually it's decided to keep a holiday let aspect to BF then your idea would indeed be a good one. Knowing the principles of the L&B Trust, however, I suspect that once the railway arrives, the station will revert to 1930s set up, as Chelfham.

 

Thanks for the map info Keith....I knew it would be somewhere!

 

Did Exmoor Associates once offer a timeshare scheme for another property they acquired, or did I imagine that? A timeshare for Chesham station, in the knowledge that at some point in the future it may once again become a station, would be a temping investment.

 

Assuming you mean Chelfham, then they have just about demolished all the added sections and returned it to 1930s layout, so not a possible holiday let. There is a holiday let / timeshare already, but it wasn't a station https://www.lynton-rail.org.uk/page/rowley-moor-properties-ltd

 

I think that, having invested £325.000, they should make that pay until the railway comes a bit closer. The income from it could fund further acquisitions, many of which are for relatively modest sums.

 

As I understand it, Distant Point (former Chelfham station master's house) and Rowley Moor Farm are both timeshare properties associated with but not owned by the L&B or EA

Keith

 

I think that this is very likely to happen

 

Just announced by the Chancellor - NO stamp duty up to £500,000 with immediate effect until 31st March 2021 !!!

 

I can't vouch for it's accuracy, but the following PDF should be of help: http://www.009.cd2.com/bratton_fleming/Bratton Fleming.pdf

Excellent news anyhow, and certainly a change from the situation a month ago. The purchase of a station is always a massive morale booster - you can't put a price on that.

 

This postcard of when Bratton Fleming was operational should give you an idea of the layout. It was one of the smaller stations, with a loop and a couple of sidings, that's it.

 

Thanks @Breva, I was thinking more of the internal layout of the building which @Mr Valentine has kindly provided.

Keith

 

Curious, what would the sidings have been used for you reckon?

And would the land where the sidings were placed be part of what is hoped to be purchased I suppose?

 

Looking at Google Maps, I wonder if the sidings were placed to give level (ish) access to the road?

 

I don't know how it was otherwise accessed, but there was a goods shed at the end of the sidings. Am I right in thinking that the current garden includes the area formerly occupied by the shed? Assuming EA are successful, and assuming quite a lot of other things, it could potentially be quite a useful building in the (distant?) future.

I believe quite a lot of pit props were shipped out of Bratton circa WWI, although I don't know if the shed was built specifically for that purpose. Bratton was one of the larger settlements on the route, so there would've been some demand for goods services.

 

This is from the Stags brochure. Barnstaple is at the bottom. The track to Lynton curves off to the right. The garage/workshop near the top of plot is near the site of the goods shed/sidings, but is not original. The footpath to the station, originally part of Long Acre, is now a separate property.

 

Obviously this good news is being reflected by the support showing on the "Justgiving" website ......over £15,000 now. If the £500 "slots" are also selling at that rate, the full price must be nearly achieved.
I also read elsewhere that two test trains have run on the L&B as part of the welcome restart post Covid.

 

The goods shed shown in this plan was 70 feet X 16 with half been let but there wasn't any sidinges going into it.

 

Comparing the two images just posted, the purchase of Long Acre yields just about half the platform length.