Volk's Electric Railway

Britain's oldest working electric railway runs along Brighton's seafront, and it's genuinely brilliant - a proper slice of Victorian engineering that actually still does what it was built to do back in 1883. You board at the Volk's Railway Station near the pier and rattle along the coast for about a mile, watching the shingle beach and sea spray from a carriage that feels like stepping into a time machine. The whole journey takes around ten minutes each way, which sounds brief but gives you the sort of views over the water that make the trip worthwhile on a clear day.

It appeals most to families with younger children and railway enthusiasts, though anyone who appreciates the slightly bonkers ingenuity of Victorian inventors will find something to like. The trains are small and charming rather than grand, and there's a real museum feel to the whole operation - no corporate sheen, just well-maintained history doing its job. Allow twenty to thirty minutes for the round trip if you're not lingering at the terminus, though a lot of people make an afternoon of it combined with Brighton's other seafront attractions.

If you're camping at Pegs and Pitches or Brighton Caravan and Motorhome Club just up the coast, this is genuinely worth an hour of your time. It works year-round but gets properly rammed during the school holidays. Go midweek if you can manage it. Check opening hours locally before you visit - it does occasionally close for maintenance on the vintage stock.