The Chard to Taunton railway opened on Tuesday, 11th September 1866 - although Donyatt did not get a halt until 1928 - 62 years after it opened!
Records for Donyatt Halt state: "This halt, opened on May 5th, 1928, has a single platform edged with wooden sleepers, and a small wooden shelter. A pathway leads up from the platform to the road, which crosses the line by an overbridge at the Ilminster end of the platform.
Five trains a day operated in each direction taking about 45 minutes for the 15 - mile journey from Taunton to Chard, having made stops at Thornfalcon, Hatch, Ilton, Ilminster and Donyatt.
Defence emplacements, legacies of the Second World War, can be found all along this track. Part of the "Stop Line" the defences were designed to stop any German tanks literally in their tracks!
The last train ran on Saturday 11th September 1962 - part of the major closures at the time as it was not generating enough income
After closure the site became a haven for wildlife - if not a bit overgrown!
Unbelievably in 1981 Somerset County Council gained planning permission to use the railway cutting as a dump for waste material from the ‘construction industry'. Local protest won over - including some famous support from David Bellamy, the highly popular TV naturalist
Although safe from this dumping - the site remained very overgrown until 1998 when local volunteers started a two year work plan on clearing the cutting. Once completed, it was incorporated into the National Cycle Network (Sustrans).
The cache itself is sited where another one used to be - that was recently archived. The cache is a cliptop box large enough for most regular sized trackables. Please be steathy as it is very popular here - people can come from all directions!