Nostalgia, now "New and Improved"

The wife and I took Boris, Norris and Doris to the "Great Cockrow Railway" this week - a place where I was frequently taken (and I loved) as a child. Unlike many other favourite childhood places which you remember being good but are in fact rubbish, or others which used to be good but have been turned into garish theme-parks; the GCR is probably better than it was when I was a kid.

Boris and Norris loved it anyway, while the wife and little Doris waved at us as we went past behind a little steam engine.

They've certainly extended the railway a lot over the years, and the rides have not just got longer but more interesting too. The new long hilly extension makes the little engines work hard, throwing clouds of smoke and steam up over the heads of the passengers. The tunnels are as long dark, dank and smoky as I remember them.

What's nice is that they've kept the quaint, whimsical atmosphere of the place which is still run by enthusiasts so their big extensions have not been at the expense of turning the place into a giant retail park. Even better Boris and Norris seemed as pleased with it all as I was.