WOMAN: For the second in our series about locally-run businesses,we meet Simon Winridge,co-founderof the hugely-successful Winridge Forest RailwayPark.Welcome,Simon.Now,perhaps you can begin bytelling us a little bit about how it all started.
MAN: Well,during the 1970s,my wife,Liz and I hadjust acquired 80 acres of sheep-farming land,and wedecided to settle down and have children.Prettysoon we had a daughter,Sarah,and ason,Duncan.The place was wonderful for the kids:they particularly loved trains and graduallybuilt up an enormous network of miniature railway track.I began to develop larger-scalemodels of locomotives but we didn't think anything more of it until I went on a trip to a themepark near Birmingham and decided we could do a much better job!So we set up a small oneourselves based on the miniature railway and we opened to the public for just a month thatyear,1984 - in July - our driest month - because our children said they didn't want our gueststo have a miserable,wet visit.I deait with Park business and Liz carried on with the farm work.
WOMAN: It soon became clear that we were onto a winner.We began to extend the railwaytrack and lay it among more interesting landscape by planting trees,which in turn attractedmore wildlife,and by making cuttings through the rock.
MAN: Nowadays,we're open all year round and we're pleased to say that Winridge is one of themost popular visitor attractions in the area - with 50,000 visitors a year - a million and a halfpeople have been through our doors since we opened.