by Alan Quick

A BRAND-NEW Foodie Guide for the Tarka Line was launched this week at Crediton Railway Station.

The free guide, which features seven foodie businesses from Crediton, as well as many others along the route of the Tarka Line from Exeter to Barnstaple, has been produced by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership with the help of local people and highlights local restaurants, cafes, food businesses, markets and events which can all be reached by train along the line.

A total of 40,000 of the guides are being distributed by Great Western Railway (GWR) through stations across its network including London Paddington, Reading, Bristol Temple Meads and stations throughout Devon and Cornwall.

Partnership Manager Richard Burningham said: “There are many fantastic foodie businesses along the Tarka Line as well as farmers’ market and foodie events which local people and visitors alike can discover by train on this scenic line.”

GWR Regional Development Manager Dan Okey said: “The South West is home to some of the country’s best produce, and encouraging people to travel and visit Devon, this little guide provides the local knowledge required to discover the best food that the Tarka Line has to offer.”

The guide can be picked up at local Tourist Information Centres as well as at staffed GWR stations and can also be downloaded at: www.greatscenicrailways.com/food .

Guide producer, the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership is a non-profit partnership between local authorities, including Cornwall Council, Great Western Railway and Plymouth University, where it is based.

The Partnership works to promote use of branch lines across the two counties, including the Tarka Line, seek improvements to services and facilities and to use the railway to boost the local economy of the places served.

The Foodie Guide has been made possible thanks to a grant from the Designated Community Rail Development Fund which is backed by the Department for Transport and the Association of Community Rail Partnerships.