Springtime Celebrations

Sat 24 – Mon 26 May

 

  • Ride behind three historic steam locomotives

  • Steam locomotive 80080 hauls trains for the first time

  • Don’t miss 100 year-old locomotive No 13809

  • 87 year-old locomotive “Wissington” with unique Victorian carriages

  • Experience travel from a century ago aboard our unique “Quad-Art” train of teak-bodied carriages

  • Hop on and off all day to ride on all three trains, explore the line and the restored stations

  • Save money with 15 % off fares when you book in advance

Book Now

Timetable

Don’t miss the chance see and travel on three contrasting historic trains as our 50th Anniversary celebrations continue this Spring Bank Holiday Weekend.

Make a day of it with our great value rover tickets that are valid for unlimited travel allowing you to hop on and off all day! We recommend booking in advance and passengers doing so receive a generous 15% discount on their fares.

The lovingly-restored trains will transport passengers on an 11 mile return journey between the delightful Victorian resort of Sheringham and the smart Georgian town of Holt.

Steam locomotive 80080 will haul trains at the Poppy Line for the first time during this weekend, marking her first official appearance at her new long term home.

The weekend will also be an opportunity to see and ride behind 100 year-old engine, No. 13809, sporting her smart 1930s LMS livery.  The engine was built by Robert Stephenson & Co in Darlington to haul heavy goods trains before being withdrawn by British Railways in 1964. She then languished at the legendary scrapyard at Barry in South Wales until she was saved in 1975 – the same year the NNR re-opened!

13809 will be working alongside “Wissington”, our smallest working engine, which dates from 1938. In 1978 she was the last steam engine in commercial ownership in East Anglia and was saved for use on the North Norfolk Railway and over this bank holiday weekend will be paired with the Railway’s train of magnificently restored 4 and 6 wheeled carriages dating from Victorian times.

Diesel hauled demonstration goods trains will also be out on the line throughout the weekend, giving visitors the opportunity to see services reminiscent of times when freight traffic was more important to rural railways than passenger trains.

Fares

Advance tickets must be purchased on the day before travel.

Ticket Type Price
Adult Day Rover  £21.25
Child Day Rover (3–15 yrs)  £14.87
Family of 4 (Max 2 Adults)  £59.50
Family of 5 (Max 2 Adults)  £69.70
Dog  £ 3.00
Bicycle  £ 3.00

Subject to availability tickets can also be purchased from the ticket offices at Holt, Sheringham or Weybourne on the day of travel

Ticket Type Price
Adult Day Rover  £25.00
Child Day Rover (3–15 yrs)  £17.50
Family of 4 (Max 2 Adults)  £70.00
Family of 5 (Max 2 Adults)  £82.00
Dog  £ 3.00
Bicycle  £ 3.00

Event tickets allow for Hop on – Hop off unlimited travel all day.

Groups welcome at this event. Please contact our Bookings Office on 01263 820800.

Single tickets, returns to intermediate stations and platform tickets are not available at this special event. Admission and travel requires the purchase of an all day rover ticket

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.