Poppylands 1940s Tearoom

The 1940s doesn't get much airtime in Norfolk, but Poppylands Tearoom near Great Yarmouth changes that. Walk through the door and you're transported - properly transported - to wartime Britain. The whole place is done up as a functioning tearoom would have been during the Second World War, complete with period furnishings, memorabilia on the walls, and staff who clearly know their stuff about the era.

You can actually sit down and have tea and cake here, which is the whole point really. The food follows the theme without being ridiculous about it - think Victoria sponge and proper loose-leaf tea rather than spam sandwiches. It's the sort of place where grandparents get genuinely misty-eyed and kids find it properly fascinating if they're old enough to have grasped what the 1940s were about. Younger children might find it a bit slow unless they're already into history.

If you're staying at Waxham Sands Holiday Park just down the road, it's barely worth the drive - less than a mile. Even from Golden Beach or Hickling further afield, it's a decent rainy-day option when the Broads get gloomy. Allow an hour to ninety minutes maximum; you're not here for a marathon session. Norfolk's not short of outdoor stuff, so this works best as a pit stop rather than a main event, but it's genuine and unpretentious, which counts for quite a lot.