Summer Norfolk Trip Day 2 Part 1 – Wells & Walsingham Light Railway

On the second day of our Summer Norfolk Trip 2022 we visited Wells-next-the-Sea .

Plan: Wells & Walsingham Light Railway —> lunch at A&M Frary —> play at the beach

Wells & Walsingham Light Railway is the world’s smallest public railway. It runs from Wells-next-the-Sea to the historic village of Walsingham. The journey is around 30 minutes each way. There are three types of carriages – enclosed, semi-open and fully open designs – with both forward and backward-facing seats.

When did we visit:

We visited on a Tuesday in early August. It was very warm 28C, sunny with no clouds and rain. The train going to Walsingham and back to Wells were packed with passengers with no empty seats.

How easy was it to find the station:

We typed in “Wells and Walsingham Light Railway car park” on Google Map and followed the directions. It was easy to find it and there was no tricky parts in the road journey. The ground of the car park is a bit bumpy.

What age is it best for:

I would say as young as toddlers to adults.

How long we spent at the venue?

Around 1.5 hours.

What else are there to see or do apart from the train ride?

• Signal Box cafe

• Second hand bookshop in an old railway carriage

• Gallery/studio and gift shop called Studio-line Design

We did not visit the cafe as we planned to have lunch with fresh seafoods at the A & M . We did not pay a visit to the shops as we were hungry and wanted to go to the beach and play.

Things that definitely worth to see:

The train itself!

Tip: If you arrive on a nice sunny warm day like us, try to arrive early at the station and get the fully open carriage because you can see much more and enjoy the fresh air breeze. On the way to Walsingham we were in the enclosed carriage and it was very warm inside and we couldn’t see that much. We were lucky on the way back and able to ride on the fully open carriage.

Anything that can be improved:

• J was given a scavenger hunt worksheet to do by the train conductor. He had to spot some fairies on the journey. Problem was the train was going at a speed that was a bit too fast to allow him to see clearly. So he lost interest and did not do it. I tried to help out but also found it going too fast and cannot see properly. So perhaps slow down a bit would be nice.

• To me, I like to pre book tickets especially when travelling with kids, so that we are sure we can get on the train and avoid disappointment / waiting.

Easy to navigate?

I found it easy to find where things are mostly because it is small.

In case of rain:

The enclosed carriages would be ideal.

You can also go to the cafe or the shops mentioned above. But they are small.

How was the toilets?

Male and female toilets were clean.

How about the food?

We did not eat here.

Any extra charges once I’m there?

None.

Other things you need to know before you go:

• Check the train timetable . I did not check ahead and we were very lucky to be able to catch the train. The last few passengers were queuing when we arrived and parked our car, and we were able to have the last three seats in the train! Or we will have to wait for 2 hours for the next ride (We were on the 12pm train – departed from Wells. Then it’s lunch time for the crew. The next train was at 2pm followed by the last one at 3:30pm)
• You cannot pre-book the tickets. So I suggest arrive early to avoid disappointment and you can then choose the carriage (as mentioned above) that you like.
• There are things to do once you arrived at Walsingham. I researched beforehand and did not find it interesting enough to stay, so we just took the same train and went back to Wells station.

• Being the smallest public train means don’t expect you can sit comfortably. Some of the seats do not have the back rests to lean on.
• Remind your little ones to keep their hands and feet inside the carriage especially if you are riding on the fully open ones as these carriages do not have doors (which was also the fun part for us as we can see very clearly the sides of the railway).

Will I recommend it as a family attraction?

I would not highly recommend it because at least half of the journey was going in a cutting so there is not much to see except weeds and more weeds. No great views. So the journey itself was quite boring. The fairy scavenger hunt was left undone because the train was going at a speed that did not allow J to see properly.

However the train experience was nice. We had our tickets punched by the train conductor. We saw him waving his flag when the train was about to depart, and we love the whistle sound when the train was approaching a crossroad.

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After the train ride we went to Wells town centre for lunch and play at the beach. Head over to my next blog post:

Summer Norfolk Trip Day 2 Part 2 – Wells-next-the-Sea Beach