19 MINUTES BETWEEN TRAINS AT NORWICH STATION ? COACH & HORSES THEN…

November 2025. Norwich.

3 visits to Dad in his care home this week, he’s barely woken when I’m there but he grips my hand which is enough.

I took a trip out to Norfolk on Friday, someone has to brave the flatlands, and found myself on a busy train from Ely in a four seat arrangement where one chap had clearly bought 3 tickets. One for his suitcase, one for his handwritten notes, and one for him and his giant laptop which was encroaching on my space.

Arriving at Norwich at 14:26 with 19 minutes till my final leg (patience !) I calculate that 19 minutes is the exact amount of time needed to nip out to the closest GBG pub, sip a pint, and just catch the 14:45.

OK, the internet says 8 minutes each way, and I would have to seek a guard to let me through the barriers as those paper cards never work, but worth a go.

There’s thirty (30) Beer Guide pubs in Norwich. Southwold, the capital of Suffolk, has zero (0), and rightly so. Do the math.

There’s two Coach & Horses too; this is the one on Thorpe Road near the Royal Mail and Carrow Road, the one with iconic balcony.

Pic : What Pub/CAMRA

My first visit in, I guess, 25 years, and I have no recollection of it at all.

Norwich pubs are of a type, clustered around the ring road and NBSS 3.2-3.6. This one has lots of table reservations, all for 4 hours hence,

and all for Louises, Lauras and what looks like Vickexia but is probably Potter Heigham dialect for Vicky.

There’s either a lot of all-female pub quiz teams, or women in Norwich do all the “life admin” so they can complain about it on MumsNet.

It’s very cosy and friendly, particularly the barmaid.

Real fire, darts, Gill Scott soundtrack, chewy Pale (3.5+) from their own Chalk Hill Brewery,

and clearly a pub tolerant of New York Knicks fans (they play in Gorleston under franchise).

Just time for a dash to the Gents* to admire Sir Geoffrey looking on angrily at England’s latest batting collapse,

and the random wall chart showing previous Norwich City managers.

Oops, my phone is telling me I have minus two minutes to get back to the station.

Never in doubt.

* Never EVER assume toilets on your train will work

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

25 thoughts on “19 MINUTES BETWEEN TRAINS AT NORWICH STATION ? COACH & HORSES THEN…”

  1. “19 minutes between trains at Norwich station ? Coach & Horses then …”
    Another day it could be 19 minutes between trains at Stafford station, Coach & Horses ( £2.85 Bass ) then … if the Railway ( £4.40 Bass ) isn’t open yet.

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      1. Lord Nelson had changed hands last time we were there. No food service which made it more pub like. The beer turns over very quickly. Not sure how you wouldn’t be able to keep standards up.

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    1. It’s normally me who gets accused of reverse snobbery !

      Part of the problem is east (coastal) Suffolk has such a small branch allocation, which has to be spread over a wide area that includes a few new Taps and community-owned pubs, so Southwold doesn’t get one just because it’s a tourist draw.

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      1. Yet wouldn’t you think that a (well-heeled) tourist town might get a couple of pubs in. Opening sensible hours and converting people to the joys of proper beer? Or am I missing something?

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      2. I think you make an excellent point, Bill. The GBG aims for geographic spread so you get pubs across the UK that wouldn’t make it on beer quality alone.

        No GBG pubs in Wells, recently, either.

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      1. I doubt they care, and I doubt it makes any difference to trade. Folk visit the Lord Nelson as part of a break in Southwold (my sister’s just back from there) rather than because it’s GBG.

        And if you put the Lord Nelson in, you’d have to take something out from Wenhaston or Kessingland.

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      3. Yes, and that’s the point of my response to Paul B.

        One in, one out. Should a pub in a popular seaside town we haven’t actually visited in ages get priority over a rural pub that we know to still be a classic for beer (and food!)

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      4. the Nelson changed landlords last year, and I heard some of the locals werent that happy with it since, the lack of food (pizza doesnt really cut it imo) which I think was a covid impact, may infact becoming a problem now as it used to attract people all day as there arent that many places to eat in Southwold. The Sole Bay again looked like it has swapped hands lately.

        Overall that branch only has about 12 pubs for GBG selection and so it becomes difficult to please everyone

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  4. “he’s barely woken when I’m there but he grips my hand which is enough.”

    That has got to be tough indeed. The grip is a small ray of sunshine that hopefully provides a bit of comfort. (I can’t find an emoji that seems to fit)

    “One for his suitcase, one for his handwritten notes, and one for him and his giant laptop which was encroaching on my space.”

    Don’t they have ‘business’ cars on the train for that sort of thing?
    (sheesh)

    “Arriving at Ely at 14:26 with 19 minutes till my final leg (patience !) I calculate that 19 minutes is the exact amount of time needed to nip out to the closest GBG pub, sip a pint, and just catch the 14:45.”

    Er, I could be wrong but you said you arrived at Ely, having 19 minutes for the next train, but then tell us it’s an 8 minute walk to the Coach and Horses in Norwich? I’m confused.
    (scratches head) 🤔

    “Southwold, the capital of Suffolk, has zero (0), and rightly so. Do the math.”

    I was going to say that Dick and Dave are to blame, but then realised that they’re South’worths’. 🫠

    “My first visit in, I guess, 25 years, and I have no recollection of it at all.”

    You weren’t pulling a “Si” and had 7 pints that day did you?

    “and what looks like Vickexia but is probably Potter Heigham dialect for Vicky.”

    (looks down)
    I dunno. Could be Vick’s Ex’s (poor Vick was married four times!), or maybe Nickers, with the first leg of the ‘N’ rubbed out.
    (goes for lie down after Nickers, leg and… the last one)

    “from their own Chalk Hill Brewery,”

    Nice. Right on site so I see.

    “and clearly a pub tolerant of New York Knicks fans (they play in Gorleston under franchise).”

    It’s actually the New York Knickerbockers, but they had to shorten the name after doing away games in the UK (that word knickers again).

    “Just time for a dash to the Gents* to admire Sir Geoffrey looking on angrily at England’s latest batting collapse,”

    (squints)
    Could be the diagram of the route taken for the Charge of the Light Brigade.

    “and the random wall chart showing previous Norwich City managers.”

    (looks down)
    Blimey. If they’ve had that many managers they can’t be very good.

    “Never in doubt.”

    Keep up the optimism!

    Cheers

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    1. See !

      I really did need you as a checker. I arrived at Norwich from Ely at 14:26.

      State of my brain right now. 5 hours on a train, 2 hours waiting around in the cold at 5 platforms. Just taken a cold relief drink.

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      1. I’ve never minded five hours on a train, though four hours from Cardiff to Conwy in September is the best I’ve managed this year.
        I doubt if two hours waiting around in the cold is much worse than two hours on a bus, such as Derby to Buxton in July, though I’ve nothing against bus journeys of a moderate duration.

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  5. ah the Coach & Horses, though I think Ive always just called it Chalk Hill (still C&H you see) to avoid confusing it with the other one, as I did think at first, blimey thats not near the station.

    but the classic thing with that pub train connection quandry, its all downhill on the way back 🙂

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  7. There is no way I can finish a pint in 19 minutes. It will be at least 30 minutes, and if the beer is tasting fine [3.75 NBSS?], could extend to 40 minutes.
    When would have been the next train?

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    1. Hourly. Tends to be the norm outside of London. Staying for longer to finish a first means you stay for a second, and then wander off somewhere else and then abandon your original mission.

      American (I assume you are, Steve) drinking is a matter of great fascination to me.

      Americans drink much slower than Brits, unless they’re on shorts or shots, in which case all bets are off.

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