My first memories of Walsingham Railway was at Christmastime going to Fakenham as a small boy to get toys and presents with my parents. But the best memories were on Saturday afternoons. My parents being Music Hall fans, we used to leave Walsingham Station at 4.30pm, the return fare was £1-6 old money to Thorpe Station, Norwich, then walk to Valori’s fish and chip shop on Prince of Wales road to have our tea.

We would then walk to the Hippodrome for the Evening Show. Sometimes there was a Circus but mostly it was Old Time Music Hall which finished about 10pm.
Then we would catch the train at Thorpe station arriving at Walsingham about 11.45pm.Then we would walk back to Scarborough Road, my brother and me with my parents.

Much later on we ordered some bags of Horseshoes and bags of iron washers to come from Stamford. They never arrived. This was in the 1939 to 1945 War. About 3 months later we received a message from Walsingham Station to say they had found bags of rusty Horseshoes and washers in an open wagon in a siding.

Twice a day a pony and milk float came from Wighton to catch the first train in the morning and one at 5 o’clock in the afternoon, I believe bound for London. Cabbages and sprouts for Covent Garden were taken to the Station by horse and cart, tractor and trailer and lorries. I remember one Winter going to the Market place where the Teamsmen took 4 horses out of the wagon because of the snow, while we put frost nails in each shoe because they could not get a grip on Station Road.

There were some cattle pens in the siding where mainly bullocks were loaded. A coal merchant from Hindringham used to deliver sugar beet to the Station with a Model T Ford which as a boy was something after all the horse drawn carts. Taxis from Hindringham and Binham were regular visitors.

Some Coal merchants also had yards at the Station.

By Mr Michael Bacon.
A lifetime resident of Walsingham.

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