New café opens at Newark Castle railway station

A Victorian-style café has opened in a period building at Newark Castle railway station.

Carriages is in the station’s renovated platform building.

Volunteers from the National Citizen Service (NCS) scheme lent a hand to help finish the new café that will offer weekly meals to the homeless.

Those who can pay will be asked to contribute £3 for the cost of a meal, and businesses will also be offered the chance to contribute.

In addition to offering food and hot drinks to commuters, staff at Carriages are aiming to turn it into a community hub.

The £½m project involved East Midlands Trains, Network Rail, the Railway Heritage Trust and others.

Wendy Baird, of Carriages, said: "I'm ecstatic.

"It has been a long time coming.

"We've had various hold-ups but every hold-up seemed to offer a new opportunity.

"It felt like everything was supposed to happen in a certain way.

"It feels like such a warm, friendly and inviting place. I feel it will be popular."