The cafe’s popular owners, Steph and Chris, said in an online post: ‘a very big thank you to everyone who had visited and supported Buffers cafe in Filey. It was a long journey getting it open and we wish the new owners the very best’.

The cafe had brought a new lease of life to the station and frequently Steph and Chris found themselves offering travel advice to passengers, many of whom only use the station once a year whilst on holiday.

The good news is that new owners may well be reopening the cafe. There’s no further details as yet, but it is to hoped that they will be in place for the summer season and that they can build on the hard work of Steph and Chris.

Buffers Cafe which has announced its closure today

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During a partial demolition of Bridlington station in 1987, the beautiful NER tiled map was smashed up by contractors. The remains of the map was stored at Hull Paragon station, where more parts went missing. A collector eventually purchased what was left of the map, but, as regards Bridlington, it seemed that the map, installed on the station in 1900, had been lost for good. However, volunteers from the Yorkshire Coast Community Rail Partnership managed to track down surviving fragments of the tiled map.

Fragments of the tiled map rediscovered by YCCRP volunteers

The group funded a partial restoration and local craftsman John Edmond was given the job of reimagining the map. In a short ceremony, Bridlington’s deputy Mayor Councillor Mike Heslop-Mullins, unveiling the restored and relocated map on Bridlington station.

Bridlington’s partially restored tiled map

Twenty-five of the busier stations on the North Eastern Railway boasted these beautiful tiled maps, depicting the network of the North Eastern Railway. Sadly, the vast majority have been lost, but nine survivors can be viewed at Beverley, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Morpeth, Saltburn, Scarborough, Tynemouth, York and Whitby. Last August Hunmanby station had a replica tiled map installed on its platform. Should Filey station become the next home to one of these replica maps? The opening of Buffers Cafe, allied to the existing, and highly useful, taxi office has given Filey station a new lease of life. Perhaps a tiled map could be the next step? Surely, our community can raise the £4,000, or so, required to have one installed?

Hunmanby’s replica NER tiled map

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On Wednesday 18 August a ribbon was cut on the first 6 foot x 6 foot 4, North Eastern Railway Tile Map in over 100 years to be installed at a station on the national rail network. The ribbon was cut by Edna Bates, a Hunmanby resident, who was born in 1920, when the North Eastern Railway still operated trains. Edna was joined by neighbours and her friends from Hunmanby Methodist Church and St Catherine’s Hospice Shop, where Edna was still volunteering in her 100th year. In attendance also were John and Chris Edmonds who installed the tile map, and John and Monica Bridge who own the old station wall that faces the station platform.

Detail of one of the original maps that survives at Scarborough station

The North Eastern Railway Tile Map, was made at the original Victorian Works of Craven Dunnill Jackfield, part of the Ironbridge UNESCO world heritage site. The hand made tiles, were paid for by a kind person who wishes to remain anonymous. Hunmanby firm B. Edmond and Son installed the map, making no charge for their work or materials.

John Edmond said: “Our family has run a business from Hunmanby since 1967 and are gratefully for all the support we have received over many years from the community, myself and my brother Chris both used the railway to get to school in Scarborough every week day during the 1980’s, so we have a lot of fond memory’s.”

Hunmanby station will feature in the National Heritage Day on Saturday 11th September. A display of photographs of the station ‘then and now’ and a harvest giveaway will take place at the station. But the star of the show will be the newly installed map. Hunmanby railway station is a great community station and a ‘gateway to the village’ winning a first prize in the National Community Rail Awards in December 2020.

Recently at Filey station the cafe reopened as ‘Buffers‘, a great step forward for the station. It stands alongside the very useful taxi office. Filey Lions also look after the station garden and miniature train on the Muston Road side of the station. Perhaps the time is ripe for a tiled map to appear at Filey a la Hunmanby?

Newly opened Buffers Cafe with outdoor seating.

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We’re fortune to have retained our lovely station at Filey, it was under threat of demolition a few years back, but thankfully the covered train shed was saved. How awful it would have been to have ended up with a couple of draughty bus shelters. Instead the station houses a handy taxi office and the recently reopened Buffers Cafe. We will be visiting the cafe soon, so expect another post later this week!

Newly opened Buffers Cafe with outdoor seating.

As always there are areas of the timetable that might work better with a few tweaks. In particular it is frustrating that the first northbound train (06.30 from Filey) misses a TransPennine connection towards York by seconds at Seamer. A slight acceleration of the timing would improve connections at York to places such as London, Edinburgh and Manchester Airport by hours. As ever, the connections at Seamer are vital to the performance of the coast line, but the fact that many folk still choose to drive to Seamer to ensure connections with mainline trains tells its own story. In fairness, the punctuality of our trains has been exceptional over recent months, but experience tells us that whether a connection is held at Seamer is hit and miss. The connections need to be made more robust. Perhaps an area for the management of Northern Rail and TransPennine Express to work on.

The last weekday train from Scarborough now departs at 21.19, still far too early for trips to see concerts or visit the Stephen Joseph Theatre. Surely, in the summer at least, a 22.19 departure might attract some custom?

But these are slight quibbles. The current timetable of hourly trains is the best-ever service level. The stations themselves are ablaze with colour in the summer, thanks to the help of many local volunteers, co-ordinated by the wonderful Yorkshire Coast Community Rail Partnership. We can only but hope that rail use returns to something like a normal level. Road use has returned to pre-pandemic levels and indeed in Filey they appear to have gone past even that. As the town struggles on sunny days from a huge influx of cars, we hope that the improved rail service will entice some to take the train.

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