Devonshire April & May 16

But here’s the thing...
The prize was Cornwall, because both
companies, in those mad old days, used a
different gauge track - so to the victors lay
the spoils.
When the newcomers realised Brunel was
going to win they pulled what they thought
would be a fast one by making their line
single-track from Salisbury onwards. Alas,
Brunel still beat them to it and their line
- ‘The Old Pull ’n Push’ - was born.
Devon’s legendary railway
THE PROPER NAME for the line between
Waterloo and Exeter is the South West Trains
Service (SWT) but in many parts of Devon
it’s still referred to affectionately as “The
Old Pull ’n Push”.
WILL HAY (left) star of “Oh, Mr. Porter!” (1937) filmed at a disused
station on a spur of Devon’s ‘old pull ’n push’ line to London
Legend has it that it got its nick name when
Isambard Kingdom Brunel was digging the
line from Paddington to Bristol and suddenly
found himself engaged in a race to get to
Exeter ahead of a second company heading
for Exeter from Waterloo via Salisbury.
So they lost but Devonians won and 150 years
on we still have a choice of carrier between
Exeter and London. Thank goodness.
Until the end of April (if you book a day
in advance), you can take a day return to
Waterloo from your local Devon station along
the SWT line for just £15 return. No rail
cards needed.
There are restrictions - you can’t travel out
until 0645 or back in the rush hour (and so
on) - but you can check out the detail on 0345
6000 6500.
Glad as hatters
IN AMERICA WHERE IT ALL BEGAN in
1998 they call themselves The Red Hat Society
and in dear old Devon, where it is just kicking
off, there are already chapters in Bideford,
Exeter, Honiton and Torquay - and another
in neighbouring Lyme Regis.
What is it and how do you join? Well you have
to be a lady and “over 50 and fabulous” and it’s
all about friendship and fun. “Essentially,” we
are told, “it’s all about embracing life and fun,
rather than being held back by age, and what
everyone expects an old lady to be and do”.
The first Red Hatters were inspired by the
first two lines of English poet Jenny Joseph’s
1961 poem “Warning”, which begins:
When I am an old woman I shall wear
purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and
doesn’t suit me.
There are now over 41,000 chapters with
groups in the UK, Europe, Australia, Canada,
Japan, Mexico and of course the United States
and everything you might care to know before
meeting up with them over a coffee (you
don’t have to wear purple and a red hat first
time round) can be found at the UK web site
britishredhatters2.weebly.com .
Jenny Joseph, who still writes good poetry
can be found sitting in an armchair and
reading her delightful poem “Warning”
on-line if you Google “Jenny Joseph” and
“Youtube”.
In the tyre tracks
of Lawrence
THERE ARE SIMPLER WAYS to drive
from Plymouth, Devon to Bovington, Dorset
other than by taking the winding - not to say
sometimes tortuous - road that often hugs the
coast between those two places.
But back in the 1930s it was the favourite
route of T.E. Shaw - or Lawrence of Arabia as
he is better known - when he was in the RAF
at Plymouth but lived in his tiny hideout in
Dorset at weekends.
Because Lawrence was a daredevil, who
delighted in leaning his mighty Brough
Superior motorcycle into bends at great
speed along the A38 out of Plymouth but
then picking up the A35 at Topsham for the
sheer thrill of the ride.
Then, as now, the route is a scenic one and
well worth this meandering drive out of
Devon to visit his historic cottage at Clouds
Hill, now owned by the National Trust and
which reopened last month after extensive
renovation.
Lawrence’s hideaway
(Photo: Dennis Gilbert, NT)
The Trust’s Helen Mann said, “The tiny
cottage offers a real insight into the reflective
private and complex character of Lawrence.
The rooms and contents remain much as
he left them and the cottage is full of
atmosphere”.
JOHN FISHER
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