Mid Suffolk Light Railway Museum

The old railway line that once connected Eye to Laxfield has been lovingly restored by enthusiasts who clearly can't let go of steam trains and vintage rolling stock. At the Mid Suffolk Light Railway Museum, you get to wander around genuine locomotives, carriages and railway buildings that transport you back to the 1950s - though without the soot or the punctuality issues.

What you're actually doing is pottering about a proper working railway museum where volunteers have spent years getting engines back into shape. You can climb aboard some of the carriages, poke around the engine sheds and absorb the sort of railway detail that makes trainspotters genuinely happy. It's the kind of place where someone will happily explain coupling mechanisms for twenty minutes if you let them.

Families with kids aged six upwards will find it engaging enough, especially if you time your visit for a steam day when the engines are actually running. Younger children might lose interest after forty minutes unless they're already obsessed with trains. Railway history buffs and anyone who remembers this line operating will find it genuinely worthwhile.

Eye sits about ten minutes away, making this a good half-day addition to a park holiday rather than a full day out. Hill Farm Suffolk and Stonham Barns Holiday Park are both close enough for an afternoon trip. Go midweek if you can - weekends bring crowds and the car park fills fast. Allow ninety minutes minimum to do it justice.