www.norfolksbest.co.uk
Remember your early schooldays when, on the first day of term, you had to write an essay on 'My Holiday'? Give your children something to write about by letting them experience a variety of the activities which Norfolk provides.
If you aren't on a cruising holiday on The Broads, hire a day boat, a rowing boat or motorised dinghy to give you an idea of the attraction of these beautiful waterways. (Hire lifejackets, too).
The county has a number of cycle hire outlets in good pedalling countryside, which includes a stretch of the National Cycle Trail. Family biking trips are catered for, with children's bikes, seats for tots riding pillion and trailers to carry all your gear and perhaps a picnic. Helmets can also be rented.
Beaches are free, and although children love them, there's not a lot they can say about them in an essay: 'Made sandcastles'.....''Slapped sun-block stuff on Mummy's back'.....'Paddled'.....'Buried Daddy in the sand'.
The county has several steam railways. Manned mainly by dedicated volunteers, most have a summer timetable and Santa Specials in the run-up to Christmas. Thomas the Tank Engine was greeted ecstatically when the North Norfolk Railway held a 'Day Out with Thomas' recently, and he'll probably be visiting again. This company operates from February to December.
The 20-minute train ride on the Wells-Walsingham Light Railway is on a 10¼-inch narrow gauge track.
With the Bure Valley Railway you can combine a steam-hauled ride from Aylsham to Wroxham with a 90-minute Broads Tours cruise. For an exciting trip in summer you can go five miles from Sheringham to High Kelling on the North Norfolk Railway , then take the horse-drawn Holt Flyer bus into nearby Holt.
The Georgian town of Holt has some fascinating shops. One, called Dolly's of Holt, is where serious collectors go to find dolls and teddies made by famous companies. But it naturally appeals to small girls, too, and they can buy clothes for their own dolls and teddy bears.
Sheringham's Splash Tropical Leisure Park has a gently sloping 'beach' in which toddlers can splash about under parental supervision. A wave machine is activated ever half-hour. There's also a 150ft long water slide.
Sheringham also provides a chance to try five adventurous activities in one day at hilltop Challenge and Adventure. Choices include target shooting, an assault course, a high ropes complex, climbing and archery.
Neighbouring Cromer has its Funstop where two- to 12-year-olds can play in the ball pool and under-threes have a soft play area. There's a giant slide for older boys and girls.
Young browsers will be interested in visiting the Norfolk Children's Book Centre, just off the A140 between Aylsham and Cromer. It's signposted. Children's classics, new fiction and non-fiction are stocked. There are books for teachers, too.
The Norfolk Shire Horse Centre at West Runton, near Cromer, is a must-see for people of all ages. There are working demonstrations by heavy horses, a children's farm with small animals and loads of things to see and do. Children can ride in a horse-drawn haycart.
Park Farm, Snettisham, near King's Lynn, provides an unforgettable experience. It has a herd of red deer on its 329 acres. You can take a deer safari and help feed the lovely creatures. Pig and sheep breeds, various small animals, pony rides, a working pottery, adventure playground and hands-on experiences for youngsters under the supervision of trained staff contribute to a wonderful day out.
The Norfolk Rural Life Museum and Union Farm at Gressenhall provides another great experience for families. The farm has rare breeds of livestock, and horses pull the plough and do other jobs around the farm. Until recently the work was shared by two Suffolk Punches, Zulu and Zebedee, but thousands of people who have met them have been greatly saddened to hear that Zulu has died, aged 14, after a short illness, at the Beaufort Equine Hospital in Newmarket. Another heavy horse, Amber, is helping out for the time being. A museum, in a former workhouse, presents bygones, village life of yesteryear, rural crafts and countless exhibits, illustrating how Norfolk people lived and worked over the past 150 years.
If your family includes teenage watersports enthusiasts - jet skiers, windsurfers, dinghy sailors - Hunstanton is the place. It's also where youngsters can exhaust themselves at Jungle Wonderland, the Funfair, crazy golf, pitch and putt and Aquarium. And there's the Oasis Leisure Centre with toddler pool, roller skating and squash court. Hunstanton has a glorious and extensive beach - the only west-facing beach on the east coast.
Wroxham Barns, at Hoveton, where you can shop for local crafts (open year-round) also has Williamson's Traditional Fair (open at weekends in spring and daily in summer), with swing boats, a Ferris wheel and the much-loved Peter Pan Railway among its attractions.
For some cerebral stimulation, young people will like Inspire, a hands-on science centre for children. It's housed in a medieval church building near Norwich city centre. Also in Norwich is the Indoor Kart Centre on Vulcan Road North.
All these places and activities just scratch the surface of what is available, but it's time to stop because no parent has a bottomless purse.
