No railways but I go to prison and end up in a police station!
I’m writing this bit sat outside the former dairy at Dartmoor Prison, now the Prison Museum. There’s a lot I already knew about how it was used to house prisoners of war from both the Napoleonic era and from the War of 1812 (which the Americans still believe they won - they didn’t!) The part I didn’t know is that in 1917 it became a work camp for conscientious objectors who’d previously been held in prisons. The difference is that the cell door locks were removed and they were free to associate at all times; the emphasis was on them carrying out essential work rather than on being punished.
I was aware that the Prison itself is currently closed and had seen some reports questioning why it is still staffed and considered operational.but the guide at the museum gave me the simple answers; the buildings are currently undergoing major refurbishment, scheduled to finish in around three years time, however due to the overcrowding elsewhere they are keeping accommodation for 200 prisoners and sufficient staff available at all times in case of a major incident requiring inmates from elsewhere to be relocated at short notice - for the moment it’s the best prison in the country to work at!
From the prison I drove into Princetown itself, the machine in the car park wasn’t working but the app was one of the ones I have on the phone (I have a separate folder for these as there are so many, but the Government have said they’re going to force them all to share so you just need one app wherever you park). I did have a bit of a wander but it was raining and I was struggling so after a quick look round the visitor centre I had lunch at The Old Police Station Cafe, my second pasty of the trip, delicious if just slightly too peppery for my taste.
I was trying to decide what to have for dinner, and was leaning towards having the fish and chips, when the boss chef made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, the Rib Eye for the price of the Rump, well it would have been rude to turn it down! It’s probably a sign of the quality of the meat served that they don’t have steak knives - you simply don’t need them.
The cook station is the old fireplace - this is not a place for vegetarians!
The steak was gorgeous, I generally prefer it slightly more cooked but it was incredibly tender and full of flavour.
Before coming up to the bedroom I did take the time to thank the manager/head chef in case I don’t see him in the morning, he’s really looked after me this week, as have all the staff.
People are strange! I’ve put a couple of posts this week on an Industrial Locomotives group on FB. One of them was about the granite tramway and was, strictly speaking, against the group’s rules as there’s no locomotive so to make up for it I posted the pictures of the three Quarry Hunslets from yesterday. Guess which post has attracted the most comment and attention? Yep, it’s the first one! I guess it was something different and it is interesting if you own an anorak! 😊
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