Castle, Choo-choo and Cornets

First port of call, though, was to nip back into Barnstaple to pick up some gas for the stove that we bought yesterday assuming there would be at least one can included – there wasn’t.

Luckily, Go Outdoors had a sale on, so four cans were picked up for just eight quid.

With our catering equipment sorted we continued to our castle.

We found the castle at the end of a narrow, twisty lane, parked up and made our way to the entrance.

I was wearing my GWR tee shirt and was congratulated by one of the volunteers. “God’s Wonderful Railway,” she stated, “My favourite.”

Walking up the hill from the car park, the castle was most impressive.

However, up close, the structure looked a little odd. Although it looked like a proper castle it didn’t have the aged look you’d expect. I commented on this to Sue.

On an information board just outside of the entrance we discovered that the edifice was constructed in … the nineteen twenties.

The castle was designed by Sue Edwin Lutyens and features a lot of unpolished marble. Being the philistine that I am, I thought that the stone blocks looked like breeze blocks.

We had a good look around the building before venturing out into the gardens

We have visited here before (looking back at the photos, it was 2016) and had taken a ride on the narrow gauge railway.

I knew that the railway (LINK) was operating today, as I’d checked the website, but wasn’t sure when the last service was.

We parked in a very quiet car park and made our way to the station. All very quiet, but there on a noticeboard was a list of today’s trains – the last one was at four – it was half three.

We bought tickets (and Sue a teddy bear) before retiring to the adjacent cafe for a cuppa.

Being a sunny day, we were sat outside when the loco started to get ready for our trip.

Much to my surprise, I was asked if I’d like to ride back on the footplate (it must have been the GWR tee). Would I ? Not half !

Before setting off, I was given the safety talk …

“You ride at your own risk.” I was told by Kay,
“If anything happens, don’t do anything silly like jumping off!”

After that it was off along the couple of miles of track back to Launceston.

We had a good chat talking mainly about railways. I was told that Kay’s husband bought his first loco back in 1964 for the sum of £60. After having rebuilt the engine, Lilian, needed a place to run and Launceston was chosen.

We took a steady ride back, crossing the border into Devon and onto Appledore, about a mile from the campsite.

After consulting the Good Beer Guide, we found a suitable establishment, The Champ, and popped in for a jar.

For a busy sea-side town, the pub was almost deserted bar a chap eating his fish and chips.

I commented on the lack of customers and was told that the local brass band would be playing on the nearby prom and everyone had taken their drink to the quayside.

We stayed inside and enjoyed a few pints, chatting with other visitors including one couple (with dogs Derek and Rosie) from Stratford-upon-Avon.

After sampling the ales, we moseyed on down the hear the band.

Apparently, in the summer, the brass ensemble assembles here on a Monday evening.

We stayed for a couple of tunes before collecting the car and heading back to base.

We’ll be heading out to the Isle of Lundy tomorrow but had to phone the ferry’s automated line to check that all was still okay. On a previous attempt, the sea was too rough and our sailing was cancelled. This time all was good.