47
the part of the diner seems highly appropriate. Liz Turner, who is in charge of all the food, says most of the crockery was given to her by her granny. “We get a lot of nice comments about it,” she says. “It is beautiful and I like sharing it.” The £39 per person charge includes the one and a half hour train ride and a full afternoon tea (with top ups). After 10 minutes of getting settled, Abigail, our host, lays a three-tier tea stand on our table. On each of the beautiful vintage plates there’s an array of delectable treats includ- ing the best mini sausage rolls my son has ever tasted, scones, lemon meringues and chocolate brownies. Not to mention the smoked salmon sandwiches which are one of many things that have been freshly prepared in the kitchen on board. We spot a rare sight of a king- fisher landing on a branch hanging low over the river, we wave to a signalman in his box and spend time listening to our fellow diners. There’s a lot of talk around the carriage of how a ‘proper scone’ should be layered and people on the table opposite are trying to remember whether they are doing it the Devon way (cream first) or the Cornish way (jam first)! There are a few romantic scenes as one pair is having a late Valentine’s Day
Menu’ which includes Prosecco and local ciders! As we pull up at Buckfastleigh my son de- clares he has had a super time and his favourites are the mini lemon meringues because they are chewy in the middle! We haven’t managed to finish, but we’re given a little box to take our leftovers home. The dining services are
“On each of the beautiful vintage
plates there’s an array of delectable treats including the best mini
sausage rolls my son has ever tasted”
treat; another is celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary asking Abigail to take a picture of them so they can send it to their children. Staff on board are very attentive and don’t seem at all hurried. They are at ease carrying loaded plate stands and hot pots of tea up and down the narrow aisles, stopping to talk to happy customers. “It is hard at first, but once you have done this a few times you soon get used to being fast, smooth and nimble,” Abigail says with a smile. “I like chatting to the customers, finding out where they have come from and why they are here. We get peo- ple from all over the world; France, Germany and even Australia. We also see quite a few regulars who bring different family members or friends each time.” After half an hour or so we arrive
at our destination, Totnes, where we sit for 15 minutes whilst the engine changes position and gets ready to pull us gently back to Buckfastleigh. During our return journey more tea is served and we are given another chance to purchase drinks from the ‘Beverage
very popular, each one is fully booked quite a way in advance. The money generated helps keep the railway running and, as they have just celebrated their golden anniversary, there seems to be a sustainable blend of healthy ticket sales and hard working volunteers here. South Devon Railway en- thusiasts hope a new carriage workshop will allow them to try and get their historic former GWR luxury coaches ‘King George’ and ‘Duchess of York’ back up and running in the near
future. That would allow them to run more experiences and events. The afternoon tea takes place on
various Sundays throughout the summer season leaving at 16.25. There is also a lunch experience, which includes a traditional three course Sunday Lunch departing at 12.15 at a cost of £49 per person. Gluten Free and other dietary requirements can be catered for when stated at the time of book- ing. For more information go to
southdevonrailway.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140
