Talyllyn Railway - Rhydyronen Railway Station

The Talyllyn Railway pulls into Rhydyronen station with a proper cloud of steam and the kind of mechanical clunk that reminds you why narrow-gauge railways captured people's imagination in the first place. This isn't a museum piece - it's a working Victorian railway that's been running since 1865, and you can actually ride the thing through the Snowdonia foothills.

Rhydyronen sits halfway along the line between Tywyn and Nant Gwernol, and it's the kind of station that makes you feel like you've stepped back about 120 years. The restored Victorian buildings are genuine, the staff know their stuff, and if you're lucky you'll catch one of the heritage locomotives being prepared for the journey. The whole line covers about seven miles of genuine mountain scenery - steep wooded valleys, proper dramatic stuff.

Walkers get the most from this. You can hop on for a single stretch rather than the full round trip, which means you can walk one way and ride back, or vice versa. Takes about an hour to do the whole line, though most people spend at least half a day messing about. It's free to wander the station and watch the trains, but you'll pay for actual rides - not extortionate, and worth it.

If you're based at one of the nearby parks - Sunbeach or Cae Du are closest to Tywyn - this fills a rainy afternoon brilliantly. Children usually enjoy it more than you'd expect, especially if they're into trains, but honestly the real appeal is the journey itself through proper Welsh countryside.