My Top 5 Norfolk Stations!

[@petercurtis3984]

Great video Sarah, living in Kent it’s so refreshing to see other railways outside of Kent, I have to say that I enjoy the original architecture of railway stations and to that end perhaps I could suggest visiting some of the heritage railways in Norfolk and maybe compiling a top 5 heritage stations in Norfolk, (eg; North Norfolk Railway and Mid Norfolk Railway to name but a few). Keep up the brilliant work.

[@liamkatt6434]

Lovely video. I remember country stations having coal fires in the waiting rooms....Gunton is fantastic and could well Imagine Will Hay on the platform. I used to love the BR railway bars in the bigger stations. They were all quite municipal in appearance and different to the modern private bars in the bigger station. The BR ones were always run by lovely ladies. I remember one in long gone Liverpool Central main line station who always said to me me 'You are eighteen aren't you?' after handing me a pint of Guinness and the standard BR pork pie. I was a very young looking 17. I had my first legal drink early in 1971 in the bar of Chester Station. It closed some years after and was replaced by one of those awful portakabin Pumkin bars. Happily it reopened after decades. The small bar servery where I stood in 1971 has been replaced by a much larger bar with food etc, not just pork pies. You can see where the original bar is because the clock is still above it and I remember travelers glancing up at it and wondering if they could fit in another pie and pint. Your videos are really entertaining. Thank you!

[@leeosborne3793]

Haha, I heartily approve of your number one choice - it couldn't be anything else!

[@suffolkraider]

Berney is great for the quietness. When it reopened there was 2 carriages of people on the platform to mark it's return. And I got onto Radio Norfolk lol. I told Trevor how you were impressed with his timetables and look of the station and he was amazed at first but was quite happy to receive praise.

[@Sim0nTrains]

Brilliant top 5 Sarah, I Do need to head back to Norfolk, last time I was there it was full of Sprinters, Class 170s and Class 90s

[@sarahwiththetrains]

Thanks Simon! Having the FLIRTs on the Wherry and Bittern Lines is wonderful but I do miss the old slam door stock on the London Liverpool Street trains!

[@norfolksdisusedrailways4353]

Berney arms could not agree more

[@johnhoward2402]

Can’t really argue with your choices Sarah. As a North Walshamite, I’m glad you gave an honorary mention to Gunton! My personal favourite is Weybourne (doesn’t count, I know!). Great vid.

[@philipbray880]

Fun tip about Norwich station it's the sole survivor of what used to be one of five dotted around Norwich. What's left of the former Victoria house Norwich Victoria once stood, with the alternative three dotted around outter Norwich.

[@ReecesTrains]

Excellent, Sarah! I need to get down to Norwich and Norfolk next year! Never been to these stations but Berney Arms is a nice tucked away station!

[@sarahwiththetrains]

@ReecesTrains Glad you enjoyed the video! You should I know I'm biased but Norfolk is a lovely county.

[@NorthWestLevelCrossingsChannel]

Excellent video as always 👍

[@badnervesbrown]

I guessed right! 😀 I'd love to see more about my other guess, Norwich Station, and/or any of the nearby disused stations. Thanks 🙂

[@sarahwiththetrains]

Well done for guessing right! I'm definitely going to be doing a video about Norwich station in the not too distant future as well as Norwich Victoria! I've already done videos about the disused stations of Norwich City and Whitlingham.

[@Andrewjg_89]

My top 5 Norfolk stations would be Norwich Thetford Great Yarmouth Cromer Diss

[@Pesmog]

My top three. Weybourne, Weybourne and Weybourne 😃

[@sarahwiththetrains]

Oh absolutely love Weybourne! When I visited a few more heritage lines I'll have to do a 'Top 5 Heritage Stations' video!

[@carlwilson1772]

Enjoyed that very much. As someone who has been watching your films from day one, I am glad Brundall Gardens made the cut! I remember your film of that very well.

[@sarahwiththetrains]

Glad you enjoyed it! Brundall Gardens falls into a very similar category to Berney Arms with being a quirky little station! Realistically Brundall isn't big enough to warrant two stations but I'm so glad it has them!

[@carlwilson1772]

@@sarahwiththetrains I understand what you mean. The reason I like your channel is that I did similar things when I was younger. In my early 20s (before you were born) I lived near Oxford and I'd often head out at the weekends on the Network South East rails and go somewhere just because I liked the name of the station. And to think I used to wonder why I didn't have a girlfriend... There was a lot more interesting rolling stock and locos back then, and I didn't realise how lucky I was as it was the last days of the old diesel rail cars and loco hauled trains. There was no KZbin then to document it. Indeed, no internet!

[@marcdsh6998]

Ah Norwich station, sad to see for another term at boarding school, but so happy to see at the end of term. Memories dating back to the '60s

[@alejandrayalanbowman367]

How about finding out what's left of the Great Yarmouth stations, Southtown, Vauxhall and Beach or even following the route of the old M&GN line

[@paulbarber1960]

I feel quite ashamed to say that in the 10 months I've lived in my new home, I've not used my local station Spooner Row 😢 It's only 3.5 miles away, and I have free travel 🤦‍♂️

[@andyc1139]

Great choice for number 1! I used to love heading to Berney Arms aboard a Cravens class 105, then waiting for it to pootle off into the distance and that special silence descending

[@sarahwiththetrains]

There is just something so magical about the silence at Berney Arms! Nothing but birds and cows!

[@suecj8770]

May be make a longer video for our home station Norwich please

[@sarahwiththetrains]

@suecj8770 Yes definitely do need to do one to cover all the history of the station.

[@suecj8770]

@@sarahwiththetrains I am looking forward to seeing it

[@OnlyTheRightTrack]

Great video! I have traversed the rails of Norfolk on many occasions and completely agree with Berney Arms at number 1, the tranquility is unparalleled and the trains servicing the routes are marvellous! Certainly a sight for sore eyes after walking to Great Yarmouth haha.

[@MichaelSebastianTodd]

brilliant top 5 stations & Norwich is def a lovely station which i used & was my base station when i spent a week in Norfolk in 2018 & i did a trip up to Kings Lynn one day & my train stopped at Downham Market & when i first saw the station i thaught i traveled back in time seeing the Network South East livery station & it look amazing & i def need to return to Norfolk in the future

[@TransportVloggerIan]

I think that I can get behind Berney as your number one; sometimes the hidden gems don't have to look extravagant to give the best feeling

[@sarahwiththetrains]

It really is a hidden gem! I just remember the feeling of absolute piece out there. I could happily spend many hours in that area even if I have got sunburnt on both visits to Berney Arms! I was so happy to find when I went the second time they'd added a solar powered departure screen and new station sign!

[@talbotsunbeamer]

Just stumbled across this vid. Very interesting - four of those stations you mention are on the Norwich to Yarmouth route, although I'm not sure that Brundall Gardens and especially Berney Arms are frequent stops.

[@mrplankton7289]

As a signaller at the Downham Market, when you were showing stock footage of Watlington/Magdalen Road on the build up to number one i was ready for a fight. But a good choice with Berney Arms.

[@sarahwiththetrains]

I wanted to keep people guessing! Glad we didn't have to have fisticuffs about the number 1 spot!

[@ReubenAshwell]

Brilliant video Sarah, nice choice of top 5 stations in Nolfolk, I've been through Norwich station to change trains, it's a nice station. Berney Arms station is quite an interesting one indeed.

[@Magicfatdragon]

i was charmed by the Whatsandwill station between Derby and Nottingham!!

[@Thornaby37]

Excellent video, Sarah I'm not going to argue with your choice for number one (which may also get the prize for the quirkiest station)

[@sarahwiththetrains]

Definitely quirky! Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@PaddyWV]

Good stuff! Did I read that Norwich was larger once with it's freight station next door? I vaguely remember the fields, and farm sheds that existed where the retail park is today back in the 90's. Just goes to show how quickly and horrendously Norwich has become an urban sprawl. Did the pub at Berney Arms ever reopen?

[@sarahwiththetrains]

It certainly was! The original Norwich station was used for goods after the present station opened in 1886 but the depot was closed in the 1980s. When I was last at Berney Arms in summer 2023 the pub itself wasn't open but there was a little lean-to building at the side selling snacks and drinks. There was a plan to open the old pub as a bistro, which there was a sign for last year, but I can't find anything online to suggest any more progress was made with that. It really is a shame but personally I think it's unlikely to ever reopen.

[@customtransport2777]

I wouldn’t have been surprised if Berney Arms was your No.1 favourite as that is one of, if not the most isolated station in the UK which defo receives attention from trainspotters like us

[@sarahwiththetrains]

Fell in love with it the first time I went there! It's just such a beautiful spot! Although not sure how much I would like it in the depths of winter!

[@CuoreGR]

I'd absolutely have the same #1, there is absolutely nothing like stepping out of a train, letting it leave... and then there is only absolute silence (and birds). Have you ever visited Corrour? That'd be Berney Arms squared (or cubed, even😅). Tbh my runner-up would be Norwich itself. Such a grand (and useful) station deserves a higher spot. Great video though 😊

[@polythenewrappedme6102]

What, no Kings Lynn !! Characterful. Good food. Nice architecture.

[@Mishima505]

Sadly a shadow of its former self, up to the late 1980s there was a serious amount of freight traffic from the docks, sugar beet factory and Campbell’s soup factory which was hauled by a variety of 31s, 37s and 58s and marshalled by the 08 shunter which was based there. Sadly privatisation resulted in the dock branch being closed down and the only freight train still running is a twice daily sand train from the quarry at Middleton Towers…

[@polythenewrappedme6102]

Thanks. I have been to the harbour, docks, South Lynn, Middleton Towers, Wisbech and Fen Drayton all in one day on a charter train.

[@Mishima505]

@@polythenewrappedme6102 only the line to Middleton Towers still exists