I’ve attended this event a number of times before. Some know it as the Sheringham 1940’s Weekend and others as the North Norfolk Railway 1940’s Weekend. This used to be one of the best 1940’s weekends in my opinion but the one time I had attended post Covid in 2021 it seemed to be less well attended. I had heard it was getting back to its best so decided to visit again. I had commitments on the Saturday so just visited for 4 hours on the Sunday. On the same weekend there was another Bletchley Park 1940’s weekend and I had a valid annual pass from my visit earlier in the year. Bletchley Park is also much closer to my home in Northampton but the fact the weather foreacast was for heavy rain in my area but dry weather on the Norfolk coast made it an easy decision to drive to Sheringham.
Sheringham 1940s Weekend – My Experience
Generally I was very pleased with what I found. The weekend seems to have attractions at all three stations on the Poppy Line, namely Sheringham, Weybourne and Holt. In previous years I have purchased a day ticket to ride the steam train and from what I was told the train was very popular on the Saturday. To save some money I decided to just visit Sheringham and Holt, using the free vintage buses between the two towns (free but I did leave a donation which goes to help with running costs).
Sheringham
I started in Sheringham. There were plenty of people in 1940’s clothing but it certainly was not as busy as it used to be pre covid. In years gone by more of the shops seemed to take part in the weekend. For instance there used to always be a table and some vintage vehicles parked outside The Lobster pub. This year however this end of the high street seemed less busy, including the sea front.
I was able to take some street portraits closer to the train station end of town though which you can see later in my Gallery. Speaking to locals it seems some of the businesses have changed hands in recent years and new owners don’t seem as interested in this weekend which is a real shame as I’m sure they benefit hugely from all the extras visitors who come to Sheringham to visit the 1940’s weekend.
HOLT
After spending some time in Sheringam I caught a bus to Holt. I decided to skip Weybourne as in my experience Holt and Sheringham is where most activities take place. In contrast to Sheringham, Holt seems to be as busy as I remember from past years. In Holt you will find lots of civil and military vehicles from the period. Much of the live music that takes place also happens on a stage in Holt. The performers for this year included The Three Chordettes and The Vibettes. The main field in Holt also has a number of pop up stalls, some selling food and drink and others who specialise in selling vintage clothing and accessories.
After soaking up the atmosphere in Holt and taking more photos I took another bus back to Sheringham. I had time to ask a few more people for street portraits before my 4 hours in the car park would expire. The gallery below is just a small selection of the images from the day. My complete gallery can be found on my Facebook page.
If you are a fan of these 1940’s weekends you might like to read the following blog posts of other similar weekends that I attended in 2024.
