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AT A GLANCE

• See Norfolk’s unseen landscapes
• Good fun
• Lots of photo opportunities
• Quite expensive (especially if you travelling in a large group)

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If you’re one of the twelve people who has read my thundering account of Wroxham (here), then you’ll recall me prattling on about Norfolk’s dearth of trains. Well, it wasn’t always so. The county is haunted with lost commuter trainlines, such as the Paston Way (here) and the lovingly restored North Norfolk and Mid-Norfolk railways in Sheringham and Dereham respectively.

A mere stone’s throw from Wroxham’s main station is the similarly charming Bure Valley Railway. Re-opened in 1990 after years of inactivity, the line has made one notable change: it has been shrunk in the wash. Other than its reduced size, the miniature trains still take passengers from Wroxham to the medieval market town of Aylsham, just as it did in days of yore (i.e. around the 1960s).

It is a completely charming experience. Although cramped, the carriage interiors could almost be described as plush. I particularly like that a conductor walks along the little platform before you depart, checking all the doors are shut, as though this were the Flying Scotsman, and not a grandiose Hornby set. The trains are even steam powered. They puff along, sounding not too dissimilar to me after a short jog to the kitchen to find a Hobnob.

The Bure Valley Railway website boasts of it being ‘Norfolk’s longest narrow gauge railway’. Certainly, the carriages are slender enough that, should you assemble a gaggle of willing volunteers to loiter on either side of the track, you could open the windows and high-five them all from both sides at the same time.

To my shame, I have actually taken this journey with my feet sticking out of the window, resting on the ledge. It was divine. The wind blew through my socks and between my toes. In the passing fields stood young families on morning strolls; as their children waved energetically at our train, I returned the favour with a lazy swing of my ankles. (How different those final scenes from Brief Encounter would’ve been if Celia Johnson had waved Trevor Howard off like that.)

Cutting through the deliciously named rural outposts of Buxton, Brampton and Coltishall (honestly, say those names out loud), the Bure Valley Railway provides aspects of Norfolk countryside rarely seen, passing through the sort of quietly spectacular landscapes that form the heartbeat of other counties’ tourist trades, yet which Norfolk dishes out as an afterthought. You’ll pass lonely mansions and sweeping wheat fields, plum-brick farmhouses and secret churches. And all whilst gloriously devoid of phone signal.

As ever with these things, your level of enjoyment can be determined by who you share your small carriage with. Get jimmied into the foetal position, amongst a throng of screaming four-year-olds with thunderous parents, and any sense of serenity at the passing pastoral splendour is made void.

The train arrives in Aylsham via a jet-black tunnel that can provide an unexpected burst of adrenalin for claustrophobics like myself. To me, the tunnel seems to last an eternity. In reality, you could probably crawl through it in about four seconds.

The miniature station at Aylsham is indicative of Great Eastern Railways’ former glories. It has three or four tracks and a very large roof. It resembles King’s Cross as seen through the wrong end of a pair of binoculars. As the passengers exit their mini-carriages, they resemble a mixed-gender NBA squad.

I love the Bure Valley Railway. About my only gripe is the pricing. At the time of writing (Aug 2024), it costs £22 for an adult return, £11 for 5-15 year-olds, and £55 for the lesser-seen two adults/two kids family of four. It is a great experience but not something most families could enter into lightly. Under-5s do, however, travel free. Weirdly, it’s £4 for dogs. Goodness knows where they expect them to find the money…