Rails & Ales

Fri 12 – Sun 14 Jun

  • Intensive service of passenger trains with unlimited travel all day

  • VISITING LOCOMOTIVES to be announced

  • Real Ale & Cider Bar at Weybourne Station

  • Live Music at Weybourne Station

  • Breakfast On Board – Advance Booking Essential

  • Hands on signalling at Reedham Junction Signalbox

  • Range of Ales and Ciders from Norfolk producers available at Sheringham and Holt Stations

  • Save money with discounted fares when you book in advance

Mixed Traction Gala plus Local Beer & Cider Showcase

Rails and Ales is an on track celebration of both steam and diesel power coupled with a showcase of Norfolk’s brewing traditions that will give visitors the opportunity to see and ride behind steam engines, diesel locomotives, diesel railcars and choose from local ales and ciders to enjoy!

Hop on and off and travel on a wide variety of trains and discover a different range of Norfolk tipples at each of the stations and enjoy live music at Weybourne on Friday and Saturday.

Reedham Junction Signalbox will also be open throughout the weekend, approximately 10am – 4pm, so do be sure to hop off at Holt and get hands on with signalling too!

Please note, the car park at Weybourne Station will be closed during this event – visitors arriving by car are kindly asked to park at Holt or Sheringham. Entry to Weybourne Station will be for ticket holders arriving on foot or by train only.

Ales and Music

Each station will showcase a range of Norfolk-produced tipples as we celebrate the County’s brewing expertise; Weybourne Station will host a real ale tent featuring a wide range of local ales and Norfolk ciders with space to sit and watch the trains come and go or (on Friday and Saturday) enjoy live music until 8.00pm with performances to be announced.

Tickets include unlimited travel so join the trains at either Sheringham or Holt, hop off at Weybourne for a beer or two and then take a further trip on the rails to discover the range of bottled beers and ciders available on at the other stations and in the bar cars on selected trains.

On the Rails

Many locomotives and railcars, a mix of steam and diesel, are scheduled to be out on the line each day and the three-days are packed with opportunities to travel behind locomotives that rarely work passenger trains and aboard a number of one-off specials.

Full line up to be announced.

Friday and Saturday will see the return of our popular Breakfast Train – advance booking essential.

Timetables

An intensive timetable will be in operation on all three days – Check back for details.

Fares

Fares to be announced.

Explore

There’s so much to see at the stations and in the surrounding area . . .

HOLT

Holt is the western terminus of the railway and is around a mile from the town centre. The station is easy to reach by road,  just off the A148 at High Kelling, and has ample parking (for which we request a small donation) so is an ideal staring point for passengers wishing to travel to Sheringham and visit the town and seaside.

The What Three Words code for Holt Station’s main entrance is saturate.atlas.dumplings

The town’s original station closed in 1964 and was demolished and part of the trackbed used for the A148 Holt Bypass – discover more about the original station here. The current station is a faithful recreation of an Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway country station, using buildings recovered from various locations in East Anglia. The station decor and artefacts are presented to give a flavour of the period shortly after  1936 when the London & North Eastern Railway took over full ownership of the M&GN.

The station boasts a small buffet and gift shop and a painstakingly created model railway. The William Marriott Museum, which tells the story of the M&GN, and the Railway Cottage – a small home made shortly after World War I by reusing a redundant railway carriage – are open on most days that trains run Easter to October (subject to volunteer availabilty).

The town of Holt is well worth a visit. Energetic passengers can stroll into the town centre – the walk will take around 25 minutes – while many will prefer to hop on a one of the buses that stop on the road opposite the station entrance for a short five minute trip into town.  The town features many Georgian buildings and a wide Market Place.

Weybourne’s atmospheric station is a a real gem. There is very limited parking, so the best way to arrive is by train! If you are arriving by car the What Three Words code for the main entrance is huddling.rots.bound

Hop off and soak up the period atmosphere or take a walk to Weybourne village a mile or so away or to the nearby Sheringham Park. For those not wanting to venture too far, the footbridge affords panoramic views back towards Sheringham and down to the sea and is a good spot to watch trains approaching.

Originally built to capitalise on the “Poppyland” holiday boom, the station served a nearby hotel that was demolished in World War II . It oozes Edwardian charm and has been restored to close to it’s original condition sporting the tan and cream colour scheme used by the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway at the time. Discover more of about the history of Weybourne station and village.

The former parcels office has been converted into a small period style souvenir shop and buffet. Historic goods vehicles in the bay platform add to the atmosphere and one, a Southern Railway parcels van, houses a model railway.

Most trains will pass another here, so you make the most of your rover ticket by changing from one to another.

Kelling Heath

Kelling Heath Park is a small halt stop on the North Norfolk Railway, used mostly by hikers. It was not on the original British Rail line, but was opened after the line was preserved.

The station was opened in 1983 as part of the Railway’s extension to Kelling; a very short half coach-length halt was constructed principally to serve the nearby caravan park. Upon the completion of the extension to Holt in 1989, ‘Kelling Camp Halt’ was demolished and a new longer platform was constructed, ¼ of a mile further up the hill to the west; the station was also renamed “Kelling Heath Park”.

The Halt stop backs onto Kelling Park itself and also provides access to Kelling Heath Holiday Park, a popular campsite set amongst 300 acres of woodland and rare open heathland. The campsite has a wide variety of accommodation including luxury wooden lodges, holiday homes and camping & touring pitches, all available to book online or over the phone via 01263 588181.

Sheringham’s imposing station houses the booking office, waiting room and buffet. The Old Luggage Office buffet is in an area which was used to store the many suitcases and trunks that the Victorian tourists travelling to Sheringham required. Today, it offers the chance to relax over a drink or light lunch and watch the trains come and go.

The station has been restored to close to its 1955 appearance, when British Railways were responsible for the line. The distinctive blue station totems and matching enamel signs are evocative of that period. The footbridge provides an excellent vantage point from which to watch trains arrive, or the engine “run round” to the other end of its train ready for the next trip to Holt.

Passengers starting their journey here can arrive by Great Anglia trains from Cromer and Norwich (the mainline station is just across Station Road), by bus (they stop right outside) or by car (there is a large pay and display car park adjacent to the station). The What Three Words code for the car park entrance is stables.case.blip

For those arriving on one of our historic trains, there’s a chance to visit the town’s many independent shops, stroll to beach and promenade or take a slightly longer walk to join the Norfolk Coastal Path and enjoy a cliff top walk or climb Beeston Bump (a distinctively-shaped local hillock). The town museum includes a Windfarm Visitor Centre where you can discover more about the arrays that have been built offshore.

Find out more about Sheringham station and town.