Goathland, Wartime weekend

Glendale House Goathland, Where to stay in Goathland, Bed and breakfast Goathland

Wartime week-end

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Every October, the North Yorkshire Moors Railways recaptures the spirit of the second world war, with its War Time Weekend. It is an anual tribute to the men and women who kept Britain's railways running throughout the war. To remember them, they recreate the sights and sounds of those dark days. Every hour, steam trains leave with servicemen and women, factory workers, land army girls, nurses ..... and you! The weekend begins with the ceremonial flag raising on Friday, and continues until it is lowered again on Sunday afternoon. Hundreds of skilled re-enactors help create the authentic atmosphere that has earned it an international reputation for authenticity. Goathland, and all the other stations from Grosmont to Pickering are dressed with wartime signs, notices, sandbags and taped up windows, and re-enactors are everywhere, showing how life was during the war years. On saturday, there is a parade in Pickering, and in the evening, a superb costume dinner dance, complete with NAAFI canteen and Glen Miller type orchestra.

The dates for the wartime weekend next year (2010) are 15th / 16th / 17th October. (tbc)

Goathland

Sunday is the best day of the Wartime Weekend to visit Goathland. There is always a lot to see, and this year, 2009, was better than ever. All the shops participated, with windows taped up and Union Jack bunting over the shop fronts. The tea rooms even had added a Wartime menu. At the station, there were re-enactments, an exploding butterfly bomb, and a continuous cookery demonstration by the "Ministry of Food", showing how to make salt fish, how to make your margarine go further, and lots of things to do with "spuds".

Le Visham
Levisham takes on the guise of a French village, "Le Visham", and spends the whole week-end under German occupation. Nazi soldiers greet every train, and stop motorists arriving at the station to question them about their reasons for being there. A German Fallschirmjaeger (paratrooper) unit re-enacts a training drop from a mock up World War Two glider, in a field behind the German camp site. On Le Visham station, a French beer tent " Café Allée de Bois" serves traditional French fare, and accordian music.

Pickering

Saturday starts with a millitary parade, and the whole of the high street area is sealed off from traffic for the rest of the day. An excellent "park and ride" scheme operates from the Show Ground, with busses running continuously in both directions all day. The whole of Pickering becomes a scene out of World War 2, with bunting, Union Jacks and sandbags outside the shops and pubs, 40s vehicles, both millitary and civilian, parked the length of the high street.

Wartime week-end

Goathland

Le Visham

Pickering