please empty your brain below
I've been meaning to go there since I was a child. I think a bus goes there from Heathrow or Uxbridge so looks like it could be a Freedom pass trip for me when the weather gets warmer.

John | 17.03.13 - 7:22 a.m. | #

A parent in a hi-vis leotard?

Will | 17.03.13 - 8:02 a.m. | #

Vest perhaps. Unless they were doing gymnastics too.

Andrew | 17.03.13 - 8:34 a.m. | #

OK, Hi-vis tabard.

See, every time I write about Bekonscot, somebody gets picky about spelling :)

diamond geezer | Homepage | 17.03.13 - 8:53 a.m. | #

Just had to mention that the frame for the signalbox came from the real one that used to be in Purley.

Pedantic of Purley | 17.03.13 - 9:04 a.m. | #

I remember being taken there in 1959, I think that's where my love of model trains started.

Michael in the Netherlands | 17.03.13 - 9:15 a.m. | #

So pleased that you made it - and enjoyed it! Also rather chuffed that you think the book I wrote is the best value guide book you've seen. It was a joy to research. And Pedantic is right; one lever frame is from Purley. The other is from Ruislip.

Tim | Homepage | 17.03.13 - 10:30 a.m. | #

I trust you were CRB checked before they let you in. But good that you went on a sunny day.

allotmentqueen | Homepage | 17.03.13 - 11:55 a.m. | #

I've never been to Bekonscot but I've always wanted to go ever since I watched One Foot in the Past as a child. I'm glad you put in the link to their opening titles, and dare I say it at just 37, but they don't make programmes like that anymore.

Anders | 17.03.13 - 11:57 a.m. | #

This has brought back many happy memories. I grew up in Ruislip in the 60's and 70's and was taken to Bekonscot once as a very special treat by my aunt. We caught the Green Line from Uxbridge.

I have taken my children there many times. It is still a magical place.

One has to admire the patience of the staff at the entrance. How many times a day do they hear, "I haven't been here for X years, and now I'm here with my own children..."

Plastic Man | 17.03.13 - 8:01 p.m. | #

Glad to hear Bekonscot is still there. One of my earliest memories is going to this place. Must visit again next time I am in the UK.

| 17.03.13 - 8:25 p.m. | #

Sadly, my parents never took me as a child. Even if I could, I think I'd feel a bit awkward visiting now. As I too, am a "single middle-aged man". Judging by the pics in your photo stream, it would have been a really fun place to visit as a kid.

Jackal | 17.03.13 - 11:55 p.m. | #

I don't think adults should ever be put off doing things like this. Why should the kids have all the fun?

Thanks for prompting a reminisce DG - I went when I was five, and as far as I was concerned it was a real place with real people. Why else would you have a tiny village if not for housing tiny people? I'll have to go back sometime.

misspiggy | 18.03.13 - 2:09 a.m. | #

How much time do you suggest should be set aside for a visit?

dg writes: I spent an hour and a half. If you have small children, or if you stop in the cafe, I'd say half a day.

Dubidub | 19.03.13 - 1:09 a.m. | #

Thanks for the reminder of days when the children were young & liked visiting such places. Happy days!

| 19.03.13 - 1:19 a.m. | #

Lots of adults visit. Why shouldn't they?

Incidentally, if you'd like to remember "One Foot In The Past" and the piece they did on the history of model villages (a topic for a book that I'm currently planning out...) then you may care to enjoy this excerpt we were given by the BBC after they filmed at Bekonscot for the archives and education purposes.

http://vimeo.com/5230498

Tim | Homepage | 19.03.13 - 7:25 p.m. | #











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