Three generations of one family who set up and run Okehampton Youth Hostel marked its 25th anniversary on Saturday with a special open day for the community.

John Elson, who opened the old goods shed at the railway station as a youth hostel back in 1997, was there to celebrate with his son Paul, now the director, and granddaughter Nicola Ivor-Jones, who works in operations at the centre. Saturday’s open day saw the community get a taster of some of the activities on offer, from abseiling to climbing and archery.

Every week, trading as Adventure Okehampton, the centre welcomes school parties to get a taste of outdoor activities on Dartmoor, just outside the youth hostel doors. It also offers youth hostel accommodation to individuals and families coming to explore Dartmoor.

Nicola said the day had gone well.

‘We were celebrating 25 years to the day – the centre opened on August 13 1997, which was a Saturday too. We had the climbing wall which we had low ropes on and we had archery and a bar and barbecue and live music from Dave Rich which was really good. It was really lovely on the day as all the family members pitched in and ran the day. My sister was running the bar. It was really lovely, the weather was on our side and loads of Okey people came.’

She explained how her grandad John, still running the centre, started the whole thing off. He had the vision to see how the redundant goods shed, with its closeness to the moor, would be the ideal place for groups to come for outdoor activities.

‘He bought the old train station goods shed back in 1996, and when I look at the photos of how it looked then, I don’t know what he was thinking! He had the aim of making an adventure centre out of this horrible old building and he spent a year doing it.’

She said she could not possibly count the number of kids who had stayed at the centre over the years. ‘Every week during term time from Monday to Friday we have hundreds of school groups through the doors. Then at weekends, half term and summer holidays, we have got families and individuals who come for the accommodation and others looking for adventure. They all come through here.’