Guides highlighting two of the regions most popular railways have been made available to the public in a new poster format. In 2018 the Bittern Line and Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnerships produced a series of tourist maps for display at stations and having proved extremely popular, a new take home version has been produced.
Running from Norwich to the North Norfolk Coast, the Bittern Line passes through the Broads National Park via Salhouse and Wroxham to North Walsham and the coastal resorts of Cromer and Sheringham, with the Wherry Lines running east from Norwich through the National Park to the coastal resorts of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.
With so much to see and do along the routes, initially the map guides were designed to inform visitors to the area as to what could be found via each railway and with the maps proving so popular, a new fold-out version which doubles as a handy guide has been produced with several thousand now being distributed around the area.
The maps have also been used to cross-promote the railway on other lines in the region including at one of the busiest stations, Cambridge. Following requests from the public for their own souvenir poster, the updated take home format has been produced which also features information on Greater Anglia’s brand-new fleet of trains now in operation along the routes.
Peter Mayne, Chair of Community Rail Norfolk, parent organisation of the Bittern Line and Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnerships said; “We were overwhelmed by the positive response to our railway guide maps which enable us to share some of the fantastic locations and attractions to be found along our routes and enable us to undertake important cross promotion around the network. “We are therefore delighted to have produced these new format guides which both help people to explore and take home their own souvenir poster.”
Greater Anglia’s Community Engagement Manager Alan Neville said, “The station poster guides are extremely attractive and have proved very useful in the promotion of our rural routes, a format that is now being adopted by other Community Rail Partnerships nationwide. “It is great that these are now available as both a handy guide and a souvenir poster for people to take home.”
The new guides are now available to collect from Great Yarmouth, Norwich and Lowestoft railway stations and can also be downloaded from the Bittern Line and Wherry Lines websites.
Copies are also available by post by sending an A5 stamped addressed envelope to: Community Rail Hub, Lowestoft Railway Station, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR32 2EG.