This is my very first review and it’s a little late but I feel the need to share our experience with everyone. My husband and I had the most fantastic three day break at the fabulous Old Tavistock Railway Station during February half term. From my initial email enquiry until the moment we left Tavistock Jenny and Colin couldn’t have been more helpful and accommodating. Our travel dates were fairly restricted due to various work commitments but Jenny went out of her way to fit us in. We were so very lucky to be booked into the Refeshment Hall – it was amazing! I won’t repeat the many positive comments made by other customers other than to say that they’re all true. The accommodation is beautiful and has clearly been lovingly restored by Jenny and Colin – a real labour of love. We’ve stayed in self catering accommodation before but this was in a different class altogether. Just go, you won’t regret it. Lorraine & Bill

Steven Spielberg on shooting War Horse in Devon

“The Devon location has some of the most natural wonders in all of England.  We couldn’t believe it.  The original scripts didn’t actually have the budget to allow us to go to shoot there, but we stretched the budget a bit to be able to afford to go to Devon, and it was worth every penny.

A question I’m asked quite often is about the digital skies that we created for the movie, but there’s not a single sky that we put in through special effects.  The skies that you see in the movie are the skies that we experienced.  The sunsets you have in the movie are the sunsets that we experienced. It took three days to shoot that final scene because I had this idea of using a spectacular sunset with the fence posts framing it, but the sun goes down awfully fast in Devon.  So we had to come back again and again to get matching skies to make that whole sequence work.”

The competition is being run through Visit Devon and Dartmoor Partnership,

The prize includes three nights at Old Tavistock Railway Station Cottages, a lunch or dinner at The Royal Oak Inn, and a guided day out with Moorland Guides and Fox Tor Cafe.

And for 20 runners up…a copy of the original story by Michael Morpurgo!

http://www.visitdevon.co.uk/warhorse/competition

http://www.oldtavistockrailwaystation.co.uk/The_ticketing_hall_holiday_cottage_Devon.html

http://holiday.booking-system.net/SpecialOffers_Custom.asp?odta=bVQ=ELKF&PVQ=D&ropt=3

http://www.royaloakinn.org.uk/

http://www.moorlandguides.co.uk/

Ponies on Dartmoor overlooking Burrator

When Mr Speilberg was talking on the radio about his new film War Horse he stated that the main characters of the film were the horse, Albert and Dartmoor and why shouldn’t Dartmoor be third on Mr Speilberg’s list when Dartmoor has so much to offer not only to filmmakers but walkers, cyclists, artists, photographers, Ornithologists, letter boxers, canoeists, rock climbers, horse riders, beautiful villages, scenery and much, much more – it has something for everyone.

Filming took place on Dartmoor, predominantly around Meavy and Sheepstor, in August 2010 when director Steven Spielberg was quoted as saying of the area: “I have never before, in my long and eclectic career, been gifted with such an abundance of natural beauty as I experienced filming War Horse on Dartmoor … And, with two-and-a-half weeks of extensive coverage of landscapes and skies, I hardly scratched the surface of the visual opportunities that were offered to me.”

The original War Horse novel was written by Devon-based author Michael Morpurgo, who was inspired to write the story after meeting WW1 veterans at his local pub in Iddesleigh, Mid Devon.

Emily Watson, Peter Mullen and two of the Art Directors all stayed at the Old Tavistock Railway Station on the edge of Dartmoor during the filming of War Horse.

If you would like to stay where Emily Watson and Peter Mullen stayed then visit: www.tavistockrailwaystation.co.uk

for availability.

See the article in the Travel Section of a Sunday Newspaper through the following link:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/travel/4004624/Stay-With-The-Stars-Hoof-around-the-set-of-War-Horse.html

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

TO ALL OUR GUESTS

PAST, PRESENT AND IN THE FUTURE

The National Railway Heritage Awards 2011 were presented by the new Lord Mayor of London, Alderman David Wootton in the illustrious Merchant Taylor’s Hall in Threadneedle Street, London this week.

This year Old Tavistock Railway Station, owned by Colin and Jenny Rogers are the proud winners of the award for the most meritorious entry in the commercial sector for their project to convert the closed station into private and holiday accommodation, which comprises of three 5 star gold holiday cottages.

The Awards were instituted in 1979 as the Best Restored Station Competition, with the object of encouraging high standards of structural restoration and environmental care by amateur, commercial and private groups involved in railway preservation.

Each year a team of judges visit preserved railways in Britain. By awarding marks for those aspects of most concern to visitors- the facilities, scenery, cleanliness etc – it is possible to draw up a ‘league table’ of the preserved railways, from which the winner is chosen.

The awards are sponsored by Ian Allan Publishing in partnership with the Railway Heritage Trust, Network Rail and many others.

NATIONAL RAILWAY HERITAGE AWARDS 2011

Paul Atterbury recommends Old Tavistock Railway Station to receive awards.

The former Tavistock North Railway Station has successfully made it through the second round of judging and has been nominated within numerous categories of the National Railway Heritage Awards.

Back in August the railway enthusiast and Antiques Roadshow regular; Paul Atterbury visited the Station, to assess the restoration and adaption of the former Victorian station. The Old Station is now three luxury 5 star self-catering cottages and the owners Jenny & Colin Rogers are hoping to clinch a prestigious prize within the Railway Heritage Trust Conservation Award category.

The judges Paul Atterbury and Michael Papps described the Station’s restoration very favourably:

“The saving of what was a very derelict station building and to find a new sympathetic commercial use was a work of dedication. The restoration of the buildings is carried out with a keen eye and skill. The interior conversions of the cottages by intervention of mezzanine floors in the high roof of the Station to give sensible, let-able size commercial units finished in the fashionable contemporary style was extremely well done.

I was suitably impressed by the standard of the design and its obvious appeal to its intended customers. It retrained a railway feel that was not over done or forced. The huge amount of work by a private individual to bring the whole complex round from a dilapidated station building to a well restored building should not be underestimated.”

Colin Rogers carried out much of the work and is thrilled to have received this level of praise from railway professionals. The Station opened as self-catering accommodation (for more photos visit www.oldtavistockrailwaystation.co.uk) in 2008 and shortly afterwards The Station Master’s house became home to Jenny & Colin. The house is now also undergoing careful restoration, and is being returned to its former splendour. Colin said that “although the Station has been awarded 5 Star Gold by Visit England it would be a great honour to receive recognition from railway experts”

The publicity surrounding the awards is also a great advertisement for the town of Tavistock; it will give exposure not only to Old Tavistock Railway Station but also the town as well.

Jenny & Colin are attending the awards ceremony at Merchant Taylors’ Hall in London this Wednesday, along with their daughter and son-in-law.