The great day out

Fancy hitting the road for some inspiration? This month’s great day out is the one and only Pendon.

Pendon. It’s the pilgrimage every modeller should make at least once during his or her lifetime. The man who started it all, Roy England, founded his legacy in the 1950s and today, over half a century later, Pendon’s ‘Vale Scene’ is still one of the most famous model railways in the world. Set in the Vale of the White Horse, the 1920s/1930s era layout presents a patchwork of contributions from some of the most talented modellers in existence. Our very own Chris Leigh even helped produce the canopy brackets on the model of Culham station. But Pendon isn’t all about the ‘Vale Scene’. It also includes the ‘Dartmoor Scene’ and John Ahern’s famous ‘Madder Valley’. Throw in a variety of annual events, including modelling workshops, and you can see why you owe it to yourself to pay Pendon a visit!