SMUGGLERS, SPIES, PRIME MINISTERS & RAILWAY SLEEPERS. WEYBOURNE HAS IT ALL!
Weybourne is a tiny coastal village on the North Norfolk coast, between Blakeney and Sheringham, with railway sleeper walls and steps next to the beach. Since the time of the Spanish Armada in 1588, this stretch of coastline has long been seen as a possible site for invasion, as it provided anchorage for potential enemies. In the second world war there were extensive anti landing defences which can still be seen poking out from the sand. Disgruntled Winston Churchill visited twice and there were supposedly German spies hiding in Weybourne windmill. It has been a popular location for smuggling brandy and tobacco over the centuries, as boats could anchor closer to the shore than anywhere else in the area, and Prime Minister John Major has a house there. (No apparent connection!)
RailwaySleepers.com Says..
If I was telling you about the dramatic tales and larger than life characters that fill the history of Weybourne, it is clear that the wind swept railway sleeper walls and steps that border the shingly beach would not be the gripping part of the story that would excite you most. Like the steam train that puffs cheerfully along the coast, there is a comforting familiarity to the bleached and weathered railway sleepers that edge the rolling dunes. It's much more likely that familes with sandwiches have sat on them, rather than smugglers, spies or an angry Winston Churchill!
