Thank you Steelgoose, great reply.
No I hadn't thought of using a rpi but I can see your point though. I did a quick search on the rpi zero W and here in Australia I cannot seem to find one for under about $25.00 +p&p 
Since the ESP8266-12 can be configured as an access point and web server, and has up to 4M storage, can I simply install the Blynk server on the ESP? Cannot seem to find any examples of that though.
Or possibly running the Blynk server on an Android phone. That would require multiple servers though as anyone using the gate would need their phone set up as a server also?
I guess the reason I went the route that I did was because I could allow as many people as I like to access the gate, (via ip access or password) without having to download an app and configure it without internet access. Imagine a cattle truck driver from the local contractor being able to use the remote control without needing to download and configure anything other than connecting to a wifi access point and opening a web interface.
I really like the idea of a widget on the home screen though since accessing your browser and loading a bookmark while driving is not good even though it's in the middle of a paddock.
Thank you for your ideas steelgoose, I will try to find a way of making them work for me.