"No one left and no one came on the bare platform" - Edward Thomas

Wednesday 7th August

We had an early start this morning. I don't like being ruled by the clock when we are on holiday, but we planned to visit the North Norfolk Railway and we wanted to get there early so that we could spend the whole day travelling between Holt, Weybourne and Sheringham. 

Surprisingly Robbie didn't make a fuss about getting up early, he got up,shaved showered and ate breakfast without any 'delaying tactics' - almost unheard of even on a work day! I more or less knew the way to Holt but more to prove a point than anything else I decided to use the sat-nav! It decided to take us on a different and rather contorted route via North Walsham so instead of the voice of the sat-nav sighing and saying "recalculating" I had Mr B at the side of me huffing and puffing because he didn't approve of the route and because he couldn't get a good enough phone signal to send an important email to his work. Norfolk is dreadful for phone signals and Internet access, Vodafone is better than 02 but it is still dreadful. If I drive to Stalham and stand on one leg on the middle of the Tesco car park I can usually get an 02 signal of sorts but it is rather hazardous and tends to attract attention!

We got to the North Norfolk Railway soon after 10am, in time to catch the Black 5 to Weybourne. I needed to visit the rather splendid toilets at Weybourne and after the early start I needed a nice cup of tea and a piece of their lovely cherry and walnut shortbread. A Class 31 arrived into Weybourne heading for Holt and I thought Robbie was going to burst with excitement. He was disappointed to find that they planned to swap it for a kettle off the shed at Weybourne on its return journey but at least he had a chance to see and hear it and take some photos. Apparently the kettle (GWR 5619) had failed that morning and the Class 31 had replaced it until the kettle could be coaxed into action. We watched it come off the shed and it didn't sound quite right (to my untrained ear) it was making strange 'trumping' sounds as if it was expelling air, but it looked rather splendid and I was delighted to see a woman in the cab. 

We travelled to Sheringham, had a look at the shop and bought a jigsaw and DVD for Robbie and a few postcards etc for me. then when the next train arrived we got a welcome cup of tea (coffee for Robbie) and travelled all the way back to Holt for a picnic lunch. Robbie positioned us in exactly the right place so that he didn't miss anything and as soon as there was anything to be seen or photographed he dashed over to get a better look.

More trips between the three Stations followed as well as a brief walk into Sheringham (which was horrible because it was far too crowded).For me the highlight of the day was the diesel, it looks amazing and sounds even better. I decided to pass on the very last trip of the day because I wanted to get some film of the train leaving and arriving. I made the right choice I got some really nice photos and video clips but there was something even better than that. I sat on a bench some distance down the platform towards the signal box enjoying the tranquillity and thinking of the poem Adlestrop. In our case the blackbird's song in the poem would have been replaced with the mournful calling of the wood pigeon, but the line "no one went and no one came on the bare platform" seemed to describe the late afternoon tranquillity of Holt station perfectly. I knew that the train wasn't due but I glanced along the line and I saw a slight movement on the other side of the line almost level with the signal box. As I watched a deer came into view and ambled across the line towards the signal box before vanishing into the undergrowth. I was not close enough to take a photo and I didn't have time to think of that anyway. It was one of those special moments that can't be preserved except in memory.

The sea hath no king but God alone - Dante Gabriel Rossetti

We had a beach day today, it was lovely. The sun was out, there was a gentle breeze and the only cloud on the horizon was the man next door. The sight of him in Speedos (again!) was more like a total eclipse than a cloud but we did our very best to ignore him. The beach stretches on as far as the eye can see, so when we went down to the beach and spotted him in the sea we took a brisk walk in the opposite direction and we found a nice section of beach all to ourselves.

Robbie sat and watched while I wandered around taking photographs. He was enjoying the sun and for the very first time this holiday he allowed me to take a photo of him. He is very unhappy with his hair at the moment because he was so busy before we came away that he didn’t have time to have his hair cut. Hopefully we will put that right in the next few days .


This evening we popped into Tesco for some milk, but Robbie really struggled to walk around the shop, the pain was almost beyond endurance and it has continued to be really bad all evening. He tries so hard not to make a fuss, but you can see that he hardly knows how to move. I wish I could do or say something to make him feel better, but it is usually better to say very little and not to make a fuss, the last thing he wants is sympathy. He will have to go back to the doctor when he gets home, he can’t go on like this.