Okehampton café to open next month

THE newly refurbished café at Okehampton station was set to open in September, when it is planned to hold a celebratory evet.

While the cafe is being refurbished, the Dartmoor Railway Association has been running a tea and coffee stall on the opposite platform in order to provide passengers on the new Dartmoor Line services with refreshments.

The café is set to be run by Leanne Knight and her team from the Amazing Brownie Bakers under its original name, the Bulleid Buffet, when it reopens in early autumn.

The station reopened last November after being closed to regular main line traffic for 49 years, and in later times became the headquarters of the heritage

Dartmoor Railway.

The reopening of the line to regular services has been so successful that following a track upgrade, hourly trains are now running between Exeter and Okehampton.

The café refurbishment is part of Okehampton station’s renewal, which will also include the opening of a Dartmoor Railway Association shop and a Platform 3 waiting room.

Okehampton Town Council and West Devon Borough Council are supporting a second bid for funding to construct a new Okehampton Parkway station on the eastern side of the town as part of the Government’s Levelling Up scheme.