POSTCARD FROM NORFOLK

With his Austin Cambridge long consigned to the great garage in the sky, Bob Barton enjoys a scenic journey by bus through Nelson's County

- Bob Barton

In the early 1970s, I relied on a 1961 Austin Cambridge for weekend jaunts along the salty north Norfolk coast. “Relied” is probably the wrong word, as the car wasn’t exactly reliable. I would make a mental note of the whereabouts of emergency AA phone boxes and wayside garages in case of mechanical problems or a leaking radiator. These days, I prefer someone else to do the driving. I was pleased to avail myself of the Coastliner and Coasthopper on a recent trip. These are the names given to two bus routes between Cromer, Wells-next-the-Sea and King’s Lynn (lovenorfolk.co.uk/norfolk-coastliner-coasthopper). It’s such a scenic journey that it gets its own chapter in a book of favourite bus rides, Bus-Pass Britain, published by Bradt Guides.

Public transport was limited when I visited the area in the 1970s. Now, the red double-deckers of Lynx Buses – and the bright yellow single-deckers of Sanderson Coaches – are a regular sight. There are still fond memories of the old days, however. I met a fellow passenger who reminisced about services run 50 years ago by the Eastern Counties Omnibus Company. He told me they even provided a parcels and newspaper delivery service. Packets would be dropped off by the driver or conductor, while grocery stores and post offices would hang a notice in their window if they needed something collected. It was a personal service compared to today, he said.