North Yorkshire Moors Railway

Twenty-four miles of preserved railway running from Pickering north through Newtondale to Levisham, Goathland and Grosmont, most of it inside the North York Moors National Park, worked by steam and heritage diesel. The line does something a road cannot. It runs up Newtondale into the middle of the national park, and for long stretches the view from the carriage window is the whole reason you are on it. Goathland station is the one people recognise, having stood in for Hogsmeade in the Harry Potter films and for Aidensfield in Heartbeat, and Grosmont has the engine sheds where the locomotives are actually kept and mended. It is the sort of day out that works on people who thought they had no interest in trains.

From Tea Time Cafe at 87 Market Place, head east on the A170. That means Sutton Bank straight away, a 1 in 4 climb with hairpins at the foot, and once you are on the top the road runs on through Helmsley and Kirkbymoorside to Pickering. Allow 45 to 55 minutes. Parking at Pickering station is charged, and there are further town car parks a short walk away if the station one has filled.

Car-free takes a change and a long day. There is no direct service from Thirsk, so the route is the train to York, 16 to 23 minutes and roughly hourly on TransPennine Express and Grand Central, then the Coastliner 840 bus from York through Malton to Pickering. Check the last bus back from Pickering before you set out, because that is what decides how much of the line you can ride.

Board at Pickering, which is the best served of the stations for access and facilities. The run up through Newtondale to Levisham and then Goathland is the scenic heart of it, and Goathland is where most families get off first. Carry on to Grosmont for the engine sheds, which are the best part of the day for anyone who wants to see the machinery rather than just ride behind it. Station tea rooms and gift shops break the journey up, there are family trails to follow, and the NER Autocar handles shorter hops if a full round trip is too much for small children.

Newtondale from the carriage window is the thing you cannot get any other way. The Grosmont sheds come a close second. Goathland pulls the film and television crowd and deserves the fuss, particularly if anyone in the party grew up on Heartbeat. Dogs are welcome for a flat 3, the station tea rooms and gift shops break up the waiting, and Pickering itself is a decent market town to walk round if you finish with time in hand.

Book the Day Rover online more than four days ahead for the 10 per cent discount, and check whether your dates fall in the school-holiday saver window, because that is worth more than the advance discount. Remember the 1.50 online booking fee when you compare prices. Confirm the Whitby position before you plan on reaching the coast, since engineering works tied to the Bridge 42 appeal have affected through-running and one recent report had the line closed beyond Goathland. Trains run Saturday to Wednesday for most of the season and daily from 18 July to 9 September, so a Thursday or Friday in June is a wasted drive. Pick your return service before you get off anywhere, because the gaps between trains are long enough to strand you for a couple of hours. Sutton Bank is the one bit of the drive to think about with a caravan or a heavily loaded car, and a bacon sandwich in Thirsk beforehand sets the day up properly.