The Mirage

There's a reason The Mirage has been drawing curious visitors to Great Yarmouth's seafront for decades - it's genuinely odd in the best possible way. This Victorian-era attraction sits right on the coast, and stepping inside feels like you've wandered into someone's fever dream from 1897. Endless mirrors, distorting glass, and optical illusions create a genuinely disorienting maze that'll have you laughing at yourself more than once.

It's not some high-tech experience - that's precisely what makes it work. There's something brilliantly low-key about how it commits to pure confusion. Kids find it hilarious and slightly spooky in equal measure, though younger ones might get frustrated if they can't find the exit straightaway. Adults tend to approach it with ironic detachment until they actually get lost, which happens to everyone.

Allow maybe 30 to 45 minutes tops, depending on how many times you take wrong turns. It's the sort of place you'd do once and tell people about afterwards rather than revisit constantly. The seafront location means you can combine it with actual beach time - grab fish and chips and watch the North Sea do its thing.

If you're staying at Richardson's Hemsby Beach Holiday Park just down the road, it's a five-minute drive in questionable weather rather than a proper day out. Better as a rainy afternoon stopgap than a pilgrimage. That said, there's something rather appealing about how unapologetically retro it all is in an era of Instagram-bait attractions.