By the time we launched the Norfolk Uncovered Gift Guide at Christmas, I was a shell of a human. We only came up with the idea of the gift guide at the end of November, so right from the beginning, time was against us. Instead of just doing a blog like any other reasonable person would've done given the time constraints, I decided to do a full on magazine and source every gift myself...on top of my already very busy life doing marketing for all our small business clients.
I loved doing the gift guide. LOVED IT. My goodness though it was a lot of work. It launched on 17th December and by the time it did, I was burnt out and needed some serious rest. In an incredible act of kindness, one of my amazing friends gifted us her cottage in Reedham and told us to go and just 'be'. I can’t tell you how much that weekend away re-set me and made me feel human again. And I don’t think it’s just because we took some time off. That place is magic and there’s hidden treasure there for sure.
Enter Berney Arms....
I didn't even know what a 'request stop' was until we moved to Norfolk, and I still hadn't actually done one until we found this beauty of an adventure.
Berney Arms station is one of the most remote railway stations in England. It’s located in The Broads, alongside the River Yare, at the south-western end of Breydon Water and its only accessible on foot or by train. You literally cannot get there by car.
The train from Reedham to Great Yarmouth passes through Berney Arms but it won't stop unless you specifically ask the driver to. Not only is having ask to for a "request stop" pretty cool in its own right, once you get there, you're rewarded with arguably one of the most spectacular windmills in Norfolk.
Sadly the windmill is currently closed inside to visitors and there is no pub (unlike the name suggests). There was a Berney Arms pub once of a time, it closed down in late 2015 though and hasn’t reopened since. As for the windmill, it's so worth the visit just to see it from the outside anyway.
Once you've explored Berney Arms, it's a beautiful 4 mile walk back to Reedham. So beautiful that I’ve just spotted it even featured in the national press two months before we visited. I can’t say it means it’s discovered though. We didn’t see a single other soul. So get there quick before the season starts again and more people start going there exploring.
The Ship (which features in the national press article) is such a gorgeous pub. Reedham is pretty lovely too. So lovely that you really would be missing out if you just nipped there for the day to get the train to Berney Arms and walk back. You really need to stay there for at least a night instead.
My friend’s cottage that we stayed in looks out over the river in Reedham and is genuinely one the most calming and peaceful places I’ve ever stayed. If you want to make a weekend (or even a week) out of exploring here, it’s 100% the place to stay.