The Sealife Centre

The tanks here are properly dark and atmospheric - you're walking through tunnels with glass walls on either side, fish drifting past at eye level. It's the Sea Life Centre in Great Yarmouth, right on the seafront, and it does what it sets out to do without pretension: you see sea creatures, mostly from around British waters, though there's the obligatory tropical section and some rays you can actually touch.

Kids under seven will lose their minds for an hour, maybe ninety minutes if you dawdle at the touch pools. Older ones get bored quicker unless they're genuinely into marine biology. The stingray feeding is the highlight - your child gets to lean over a tank and watch them glide up for food, which is genuinely cool. The tunnel walk where sharks swim overhead is atmospheric rather than thrilling, but it works.

It's free entry for under-threes, paid admission for everyone else - check their website for current prices as these places shuffle them around. Allow two hours maximum, even if you're trying to stretch it out. Weekday visits are vastly better than weekends when it gets rammed with school groups.

If you're staying at Azure Seas Holiday Village just up the coast, this fills a rainy afternoon without fuss. Don't expect anything on the scale of SEA LIFE London, but it's competent and the kids will remember the rays. Worth combining with a walk along Great Yarmouth's seafront and the tacky-brilliant arcade pier - that's a proper half-day sorted.