Norwich station - the start of our train travels. We took the commuter train that took us to Shringham via Cromer both on the North Norfolk Coast
The main Street in Sheringham
The Sea Front in Sheringham
Sheringham Station - the home of the North Norfolk Railway (or Poppy Line)which took us to a small town called Holt
The Steam Engine that pulled our train being brought round and coupled up.
The heritage bus that ran from Holt Station to the village
Dereham Station - home of the Mid Norfolk Railway
They were having a 1940's Weekend on the day we went and here are some of the vehicles on display - a Citroen above
Again the engine being coupled to our train
One of their diesel engines
Disembarking at Wymondham Station
We then went for a ride on the Bure Valley Line on a miniature steam railway which ran from Aylsham to Wroxham on the Norfolk Broads
As you can see the carriages were a tight fit!
At Wroxham we joined this trip boat for a cruise on the Norfolk Broads. It rained for most of the cruise! The photo above is not one of mine, but taken from the Broads Tours website
These are some of the Waterside properties at Wroxham
One of these properties was reputed to be the holiday home of George Formby - a singing star of the 1940's
A Norfolk Wherry once common on the Broads
Boats on the Broads
Bird life on the Broads
A boat convoy heading back upriver
Richard Crangle - our entertaining and efficient Treyn Holiday Tour Manager
Crosskeys Swingbridge at Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire. The only notable site on an otherwise uneventful drive across the county
The entrance gate to Hardwick New Hall in Derbyshire
Hardwick Hall built by Elizabeth of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury, one of the most powerful women in Elizabethan England
Hardwick Old Hall - Next Door the the new Hall and also rebuilt by Bess of Hardwick on the site of her family home
In the gardens at Hardwick Hall
The National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas in Staffordshire which has been set up as a memorial to those that fell in modern wars
The arboretum was opened in 2001 and states that:
The National Memorial Arboretum honours the fallen, recognises sacrifice and fosters pride in our country. It is a spiritually uplifting place and is emerging as a world-renowned centre for remembrance
Looking towards the Merchant Navy Convoy memorial dedicated to the officers and men of the British Merchant Navy
The Master Mariner's Sundial
The memorial to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ship Sir Percival sunk during the Falklands War
The memorial to the old boys of HMS Conway an old wooden wall battleship that served as a school ship and was moored in the Mersey for many years. My father Philip was educated on this ship in the 1930's
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Conway_(school_ship)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Conway_(school_ship)
The memorial to the Ships owned by and also managed by the Elder Dempster Shipping Company that were sunk in the Second World War
My father served with this company through the war years first as a Cadet and then later as a 3rd Mate and then as a second Mate until he left the company in 1948.
He was serving aboard the Adda as a third mate on 8 June 1941 when she was torpedoed by the U Boat U107
http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/980.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-107_(1940)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-107_(1940)
The memorial to those who served with the Reardon Smith Line. My uncle, Alan Philips served with this line through the war. Later he served with BP Tankers and was a Captain with them until his retirement in the 1970's
Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire at different times owned by John Of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster and father of King Henry IV and Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester a favourite of (and reputedly a lover of) Queen Elizabeth the first
The remains of Robert Dudley's Great Hall
The remains of John of Gaunt's Keep
The only part of the castle not in ruins - the Elizabethan Gatehouse
The Elizabethan Gardens - recreated by volunteers
Inside the Earlier Keep
Inside Robert Dudley's Hall
We stayed on our last night away in Gloucester and the next morning we visited the dock area which is currently undergoing regeneration.
Approaching Goodrich Castle in Herefordshire near the Welsh border
The castle and the moat
The barbican and entry
The Great Hall
In the moat looking towards the 17th century stables
The older (and shorter) Servern Bridge which we had just crossed from Chepstow
