On Sunday we had a nostalgic trip to the north Norfolk coast – the perfect tonic after a rainy week.
Our adventure started in Holt, on the Poppy Line railway. This is the North Norfolk steam railway which runs between Holt and Sheringham on the coast. We normally only go to Holt for the lovely shops, but this beautiful preserved railway station is tucked away on the edge of town.
We’d had a long journey in the car from Ely – stuck behind lots of tractors and horse boxes – and the boys were beginning to get a bit fed up. As soon as they saw the steam, though, they perked up. We were just in time to catch the next train to the seaside. We bought our tickets and raced aboard, buckets and spades in hand!
The ride to Sheringham took about half an hour. It was a beautiful day, and it was a beautiful train. Inside, we admired the polished wood, and outside we enjoyed a view of horses, hay bales and eventually the blue sea.
Once we arrived we skipped down to the beach and the boys started digging for Australia. We’d bought some little paper flags on the way to the beach – these were soon marking out their territory! After our picnic lunch we all had a paddle in the sea and – as usual – regretted not packing our swimming things.
Yummy ice creams were eaten and everyone’s toes got very sandy. We were a bit sad when it was time to pack up and go back to the station, but we enjoyed looking in all the windows of the seasidey shops.
And then, of course, there was all the joy of the steam train all over again!
I think we went on the same train line when we went to Norfolk. And it was so lovely. If you’ve got boys (or girls for that matter) it’s a dream day out for them.
Really enjoyed catching up with your blog after our holiday Lizzie. We were only away for a week but I came back to over 200 unread blog posts on my bloglovin feed! I’ve been skimming some, reading others for days now and have been saving yours up for a nice quiet morning with a cuppa! xx
Thanks Katie – I’m just sitting in the hospital cafe with my laptop (after dropping my son off for speech therapy) and it’s a real treat to see all your lovely comments! We’ll definitely be going back to the Poppy line soon. I can’t believe I never went on it when I was growing up! x