North Norfolk Railway - (Weybourne,Station)

Steam trains still run along this stretch of Norfolk coast, which alone makes the North Norfolk Railway worth a morning of your holiday. Based at Weybourne Station, near Holt, it's a working heritage line that operates vintage locomotives and restored passenger carriages on a four-mile route towards Sheringham. The station itself has the feel of somewhere frozen in the 1950s - platform benches, enamel signs, the whole lot - which appeals far more than it has any right to.

You can either take a round trip and spend a couple of hours rattling through rural Norfolk, or walk one way and catch the train back. The journey's gentle rather than spectacular, but there's something genuinely charming about pottering past fields and woodland at fifteen miles per hour. Children seem to love it; adults either find it properly relaxing or daft, depending on their patience for nostalgia. Allow three hours minimum if you're doing a full outing with a cuppa at the terminus.

It's a free wander around the station itself, though train rides cost money - check their website for current fares and running days, as heritage railways don't always operate daily. Summer weekends and school holidays are busiest. The line works well alongside a caravan stay at Kelling Heath or Woodlands, both minutes away, or as a rainy-day plan when you've had enough of the beach at nearby West Runton. Worth the detour if you're into that sort of thing. If you're not, don't force it.