National Railway Museum

Lonely Planet review

Most railway museums are the sole preserve of lone men with dog-eared notebooks and grandfathers looking to bond with their grandchildren. While there's no shortage of either here, the National Railway Museum stands apart on account of its sheer size and incredible collection.

Trainspotters and nostalgics will salivate at the massive gathering of engines and carriages from the past, but the attractions for regular folk are the gleaming carriages of the royal trains used by Queen Victoria and Edward VII; the speed-record-breaking Mallard (a mighty 2 miles a minute in 1938, still a record for a steam train); and a Series 'O' Japanese bullet train (1964-86), which you can sit in - it is a testament to the speed of technology that the train now appears a tad dated. Just next to it is a simulator, which allows you to travel from London to Brighton in real time at supersonic speed - the journey takes four minutes. You can also wander around a vast annexe including the restoration workshops. Allow two hours to do the museum justice.