Woody Bay, Devon — Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, Camera 1

The Lynton & Barnstaple was a narrow gauge line that, in the railway's own words, "Originally opened in 1898, and closed in 1935". It was rebuilt from Woody Bay by volunteers, and the railway makes a specific claim about what that amounted to: it calls itself "the longest-closed section of railway line anywhere in the world to have ever been reopened solely through volunteer effort", and reports "over 40,000 visitors a year". Woody Bay station sits at 964 feet above sea level on Exmoor, which the railway states makes it "the highest railway station in Southern England". What the cameras watch is a short railway with long ambitions. The current service is "A one mile return trip from Woody Bay Station to Killington Lane and back. Two miles in total taking approximately 20 mins" — and the railway is blunt about the rest: "We do not operate trains to either Lynton or Barnstaple. The rail service to these two destinations is currently suspended pending further reconstruction of the railway." Work is under way on an extension from Killington Lane toward Parracombe, with Blackmoor, Wistlandpound and eventually Lynton named as the longer-term goal. The cameras themselves are a partnership, not an in-house project. The railway announced them on 31 July 2025: "Today, in conjunction with Railcam.uk we commissioned our new webcams at Woody Bay so that members, supporters and visitors from right around the world can experience the railway from the comfort of their home". Railcam describes itself as "a website, based in the UK, which installs and operates railway-related webcams". A fourth camera, at Killington Lane, was added in June 2026 and runs only when the railway is operating. Motive power on view is narrow gauge and mostly steam. The resident locomotive is Kerr, Stuart & Co Ltd No. 2451 *Axe* — "our own resident loco being jointly owned by all the members of the L&B Trust". Also based at Woody Bay are Bagnall No. 2819 *Sir George Newnes*, "Built for the Tongaat Sugar Company of South Africa by WG Bagnall for £2775, the loco entered service there in 1946", and *Lyn*, which the railway bills as "The World's only new-build American steam loco". Diesels appear too: the railway's Mixed Traction Day on 17 May 2026 ran *Lyn* alongside *PILTON*, *Heddon Hall* and D6652. The carriage fleet is the point of difference the railway pushes hardest — five rebuilt heritage carriages, and the claim to be "the only steam railway in the UK where on every journey, passengers travel in Victorian railway carriages designed in the 1890's".