Steam in the glasshouse, steam on the rails - It's 'otter along the Dart!

If you take a ten minute drive down the A38 from Teigngrace, you might just end up in a little town called Buckfastleigh.  At first glance, there isn’t much to keep the traveller in the little town for too long, but if you look again, you might just uncover a wonderful little world of intrigue, interest and conservation.

We roll up in my trusty little Toyota to what at first glance appears to be a fairground.  What is going on in this usually sleepy little corner of the county?  We find a space in the overflow carpark (courtesy of the traffic-controlling cadets) and make quietly for the otter sanctuary, a source of much delight for Lizzie and I in the past.  Inside, the spacious pens of Buckfastleigh’s well-loved otters lie in wonderfully natural conditions.  The otters, in one way or another, are all rescue creatures that, for various reasons, the sanctuary has been unable to release back into the wild.  One was a baby, swept away from its holt during the recent floods; another was unfortunately stuck in the waterwheel near Morrison’s supermarket in Totnes, and was injured.  Our arrival has coincided with the morning feed, so we are treated to a good talk from the expert keeper, who takes us from the Asian short-clawed to the North American, ending with our lovely native species.

Funnily enough, otters are not the only thing to be found at Buckfastleigh's Otter Sanctuary.  Inside the large glasshouse, cheerfully flapping in the heat and humidity, myriad perfectly formed butterflies flit from leaf to leaf, fruit to fruit.  Being careful not to step on any is quite a challenge, for they do seem to land anywhere and everywhere, including on your clothes, hair, and bag.  Through the middle of the glasshouse lies a pond, so we are also treated to enormous koi carp and sleepy terrapins, who cling to the edge of the water and bask in the heat, occasionally losing their grip and plopping straight in, with some comedy.  So hot is the glasshouse, my camera steams up almost as soon as we enter, hence the slightly hazy nature of the photos.

Back outside, and it turns out we have arrived – quite accidentally – in the middle of a vintage transport festival, enthusiasts out in full force to show off their perfectly-kept cars, or to photograph the shiny steam engines.  Following our visit to the otters, our destination is Totnes, which we intend to get to by the magical form of old steam train.  Our engine pulls into the intriguing little station – more a labour of love, of course, than anything that would function effectively nowadays (unless you’re from the Westcountry, then you may eye Buckfastleigh station with envy when compared to our unkempt and ramshackle modern mainline stops) – and we hop aboard, happily settling into our compartment, reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s murderous night on that famous Orient Express.  Talk about a timely service, within minutes we are chugging through River Dart country, rocking gently, enjoying the rural scenery pass us by at a more-than-acceptable relaxing speed.  I really like these old trains, their comfortable furnishing, their wood panels and doorframes, a glance around revealing not one hint of plastic in the entire carriage.

The ride to Totnes – which is the end of the line – takes not half an hour, and involves a stop at Staverton, from which many excited train spotters – all with massive cameras – can be seen.  When we alight at Totnes Littlehempston (yes, Totnes technically has two railway stations!), there is commotion aplenty, and you would be forgiven for thinking the 11.24 for London Paddington had just turned up.  It’s a heady mix of train spotters, locals and tourists on day trips, guards, luggage porters, even a man with an owl on his arm (a keeper from the nearby rare breeds farm) who has come to show the owl to the tourists, or perhaps the tourists to the owl, and to drum up some support for the farm, which lies just beyond the station.

And what a lovely little farm it is too!  We are given a free bag of animal feed on arrival, and Lizzie wastes no time letting the animals tuck in.  Around the site, we are treated to owls, goats, donkeys, alpacas, sheep, ducks, pigs, geese, hedgehogs, squirrels, guinea pigs, bantams, all manner of small and unusual creatures from the rarer gene pools of the world.  Even the most tiny of creatures had not been forgotten – indoors there are tiny harvest mice, whose nests stretch deep down inside glass-fronted cabinets, dotted with the occasional seed, and looking like the perfect winter retreat.

Rare breeds enjoyed, the food long gone, we stroll back to the station for the exciting return journey up the Dart valley.  Back at Buckfastleigh, there’s just enough time left to browse the railway museum, take in the classic cars, and spend a while watching my most favourite object of the moment, this beautiful carnival organ, which encapsulates a spirit of fun, humour and innocence that I thought was all-but-lost from this world.  It's an absolutely magical object to end an absolutely magical day, so why not play the video and enjoy the tunes yourself?

To see all the photos from our lovely day out along the Dart, click here