Ffestiniog Railway - (Blaenau Festiniog, Station)

The little steam locomotives that chug out of Blaenau Ffestiniog station have been doing exactly the same thing since 1836 - and there's something rather moving about that. The Ffestiniog Railway runs thirteen miles down to Porthmadog on the coast, climbing and descending through some genuinely dramatic Welsh slate country, and it's one of those attractions that works differently depending on who you are.

If you're a railway enthusiast, you'll be in absolute heaven - the engineering is proper impressive and the volunteers who run the place know their subject inside out. Families with young children tend to love the sheer spectacle of it all: the noise, the steam, the sense of adventure. But if you're expecting a white-knuckle day out, you might find a two-hour journey a bit leisurely. It's meditative more than thrilling.

Allow three to four hours for the round trip with a stop at Porthmadog, where you can grab lunch and potter about the harbour. Spring and summer offer the most frequent trains and the best weather, though winter journeys have their own appeal if you don't mind the cold.

It slots nicely into a week based at one of the local campsites - Llechwedd Glamping is practically on the doorstep at less than a mile away, while Llyn Gwynant Campsite further afield offers more space and walks. The railway works as a proper rainy-day option too, which in North Wales is worth knowing about.