Sheringham Steam Railway 40s Weekend – Lipstick, Lettuce & Lycra

Well, while everyone else has been going fashion week crazy my weekend has been somewhat different.

In the middle of last week Simple Skin Care invited me to be their Blogger judge at their Search for a Simple Star Teen Video Blogger Beauty Boot Camp. So on Saturday I headed off to Solihull, I’ll tell you more about that later this week, and I might have a tiny giveaway for you too if you keep your eyes peeled!

On Sunday I went to Sheringham Steam Railway for their 1940s weekend, I’ve not been before, and wasn’t sure what to expect. The event was spread over 3 stations on the poppy line steam railway and a day rover ticket allowed you to hop on and off the steam train all day, visiting the stalls, enjoying the entertainments and topping up on spam sandwiches and cups of tea.

Sheringham

Sheringham featured swing dancing and a live band on the platform with a beer tent and the NAAFI serving up spam and corned beef sandwiches with tea and cake.

We bought tickets in the cute little ticket office so that we could ride around on steam trains all day. I wish ticket offices were still like this, with a fireplace and a little window. Though I must confess it’s probably less convenient when I’m late for my train!

❤ Cardigan - M&S, via a Charity Shop ❤ Box Pleat Skirt - Charity Shop ❤
❤ Shoes - New Look, via a Charity Shop ❤ Hat - vintage, via Mr Chicks Mum!❤
❤ Bag & pearls - Vintage ❤

Weybourne

Weybourne was the middle stop on the line, there were a few little stalls dotted around, and an Andersen shelter that we only spotted on the train on the way out of the station again, so never saw.

We were also treated to the entertaining sight of some Dad’s Army “re-enactors” capturing a German parachutist and trying to fend off some furious Land Girls with a mop.

Seeing as this is a blog is all about the pretty frocks I also have to show you this beautiful dress from the exhibition on the Weybourne platform.

The picture next to it is Joan in the dress on her wedding day on June 12th 1940. The fabric was beautiful, it’s hard to get across the slight iridescence of the satin in a photo, but I very much enjoyed spending a few minutes examining the construction and feeling the material as I am a total clothes geek.

Weybourne was also home to a slightly irritating photographer who wanted to take my photo, and then proceeded to spend 5 minutes telling me which direction to look in and asking me not to smile, seemingly forgetting that I was not his paid model but on a pleasant day out with my husband. But never mind.

Departing for Holt we got on a slightly different style train. I heard a woman outside say “I have to go on that one by the end of the day as it looks posh” she was right. It was very much the style of train you see in episodes of Poirot, individual carriages with wood panelling and luggage racks.

Holt

At Holt we found most of the action. There was shopping, classic cars, entertainment, and, apparently, an unexploded bomb (I suspect this wasn’t real….)

It was a tricky and time consuming job, but finally I chose our new car. I wish this was really mine, but I suspect it might not be quite as comfortable for 500 mile journeys to Aberdeen.

I shall leave you with a final little collage of images from Holt. If you look at the bottom picture of this set you can just see a woman in a pink jacket and a white hat. She was a stall holder. It may interest you to know that she asked me if my hair was real. She seemed a bit crazy so I’m refusing to feel paranoid about it.

And that, was Sunday in the land of Retro Chick. I returned home with a new skirt for autumn and a hankering after spam sandwiches. My only minor disappointment was that there were quite a few people who had made no effort at all with their outfits. I’m not talking authenticity, I’m talking fleeces and trainers, do these people not own proper shoes and a jacket? Anyway, minor rant aside, I’ll definitely be going back next year, probably with a picnic and more time to spare!