Norfolk - Boats, Trains & Seaside with Darren, Duncan & Tracey

 Norfolk - Boats, Trains & Seaside 

It was straight to Sheringham station for our ride on the North Norfolk steam railway to Holt. It wasn’t long before we heard our beautiful old steam train huffing and puffing its way down the track into the station. We hopped on board and took our seats in the old fashioned carriages then purchased some drinks and snacks for our journey along the scenic Norfolk coast. The train pushed on down the track to Holt whistling as it went and steam billowing past our windows. 

We took in some fantastic sea views and before we knew it we had arrived at Holt station. As soon as we had disembarked, we spent some time checking out the model railway exhibitions on show and also the fascinating railway museum. Some purchases were made from the gift shop then we sat outside and enjoyed some lunch in the sun. 

It was then time to catch the train back to Sheringham and decided to have a walk down to the sea front checking out the quirky shops as we passed. There was the perfect spot just above the beach for us to sit and watch the waves breaking on the shore and children playing on the beach while we relaxed.

We were super excited as today we would be getting our first taste of fun and adventure on Norfolk’s famous waterways. Christopher and David our lovely trust volunteers were ready to take us out on one of the cruiser boats. We stepped on board and made ourselves comfortable and we were soon sailing up the river enjoying the beautiful countryside all around us. 

We loved being nature detectives, spotting all the animals that live on the water. 

Our cruise then continued along broads where we came across a little boat which was selling ice cream. Of course, we couldn’t resist, so pulled over for a sweet treat; after all it’s not every day you get to buy and eat an ice cream on a boat! 

Another fabulous day was spent in the water in our double canoe. Working well together we soon got our oars in sync and were cruising smoothly along the Barton broads.

We had a fascinating afternoon at Norfolk Aviation Museum as we had some big aeroplane enthusiasts in the group. We had a great time checking out the huge collection of decommissioned aeroplanes and exhibits and even got to look inside a former Royal Mail Plane which was really cool.

With our safety jackets on we headed down to the boat ramp to meet Steve and jump on board one of the trusts wonderful Bass boats for a spot of sailing. We used the iron sail to navigate the back channels then once we were out on the open water of Barton broad, we raised the sail and it was over to good old fashioned wind power of which there was plenty to send us cutting through the water with no problem. Everyone had a great time having a turn at steering the rudder and manning the ropes to ensure the wind stayed in our sails. We all agreed we made excellent captains. 

It was a unanimous vote for a competitive game of bowling. There were high score all round and a few great strikes.