Bure Valley Railway (Aylsham station)

The Bure Valley Railway runs a proper steam train service between Aylsham and Wroxham, a nine-mile stretch through some genuinely lovely Norfolk countryside. You board at Aylsham station - a restored Victorian platform that smells of hot oil and nostalgia - and rattle slowly through farmland, woodland, and water meadows that genuinely feel worlds away from Norwich, which sits just ten miles south.

It's the kind of thing that sounds twee on paper but actually works. The locomotives are authentic, the staff clearly love what they do, and there's something about the pace of travel that makes you notice details - a heron by the track, the swing of the crossing gates, the particular green of the Norfolk Broads coming into view as you approach Wroxham. Families get the most from it, especially younger children who lose their minds over the steam and noise. Walkers and railway enthusiasts will find plenty to geek out over.

Allow a couple of hours for the round trip with a decent break at Wroxham. It runs seasonally - mainly weekends and school holidays - so check ahead before you plan around it. There's a modest fare, nothing outrageous. If you're based at any of the caravan parks in the area - Top Farm Campsite is closest at just 1.6 miles away - this makes an easy half-day outing that breaks up a Norfolk holiday nicely. Pair it with a walk around the Broads themselves, or a mooch around Wroxham's shops. Not revolutionary, but genuinely enjoyable.