Not sure if I've mentioned this place before.
Hidden at the far reaches of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum (that we visit frequently) is an enthusiast-run miniature railway. Although you'd think I was, by the amount of rail-related stuff on Ace Jet, I'm not particularly interesting in all this, but our boys are and it's hard not to get sucked in, it's kind of magical. Mostly hidden in a walled garden, all the public see is a semi-circle of track that comes out of one red brick arch and disappears again through another. But we're sneaky. We always follow the rough path up the side, around the back to get the full picture.
We were there on Saturday again and our boys were thrilled to be invited aboard. While they were looping around the lawn, I was taken into the workshop to investigate the lathes. It was excellent. And the enthusiasm of the pipe smoking, engine fiddlers that look after it all is inspiring.
That's wonderful. So is it only for old men in boiler suits? There's a similar one near me in Strathaven but they also have a slightly larger one that the public can straddle.
See here http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilike/537201241/
Posted by: Anne | 16 June 2008 at 08:54 PM