Tales from the Rails Audio Trail: Recent Episodes
Dartmoor National Park
Enjoy the quiet beauty of the Wray Valley Trail which runs between Bovey Tracey and Moretonhampstead along the the line of the old railway. The railway would have had a huge impact on those people who lived and worked in the area and the people who visited the moor. Discover some of their stories with this podcast. Follow the trail and play the track when you see the numbered waymark post.
When the railway reached the town in 1866, people travelled in great excitement from across the area to see the arrival of the first train. It soon became possible to get a train from London Paddington and be on Dartmoor in only five and a half hours and tourists began to visit regularly. Meet one such gentleman who has been very well looked after and is keen to visit again.
Timber from these woods was felled and loaded onto trains in a specially contructed siding near here, leaving each Sunday by rail. Meet one of the woodsmen and enjoy the view and the sounds of the woods.
East Wray Quarry opened around 1864. Its granite was used to construct bridges, culverts, viaducts and station buildings along the line. Meet one of the quarrymen who worked hard to extract it.
The railway made a huge difference to the lives of those who lived and worked in the valley and brought visitors from far afield who came to visit the picturesque village of Lustleigh and the "far-famed" Lustleigh Cleave. Discover what the railway man had to say about it all.
Nearby Kelly Mine was famous for its "shining ore" - micaceous haematite- which was exported far and wide from Lustleigh. Meet one of the miners who dug it out.
Hawkmoor Halt was opened in 1931 to serve staff, patients and vivitors of the nearby Hawkmoor Sanatorium. Meet one of the nurses who cared for those who were sent there.
The old railway passes through the beautiful Parke estate, once the home to Mr William Hole. Find out more and what his housekeeper thought about the railway.
The Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway opened in 1866, contributing to the expansion of Bovey's large potteries. brickworks and its local shops and services. Part of the Tales from the Rails audio trail along the Wray Valley Trail