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You will hear a radio presenter interviewing a founder of Windridge Forest Railway Park.
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First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 13.
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Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 13.
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In the second program in our series on local businesses, we're joined by Simon Windridge, who helped establish the highly successful Windridge Forest Railway Park.
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Could you begin by explaining how the park came about?
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In the 1970s, my wife Liz and I bought 80 acres of land used for sheep farming.
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We settled there and had two children, Sarah and Duncan.
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It was a marvelous place for them to grow up and they were both fascinated by trains.
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Over time, they created a huge system of miniature railway track.
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I started making larger model engines, but we never considered turning the idea into a business until I visited a theme park near Birmingham.
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I came away convinced that we could produce something better ourselves.
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So that visit gave you the idea?
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We developed a small park around the miniature railway.
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In our first year, 1984, we admitted visitors for only one month, July, which is usually our driest month.
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The children were worried that people would have an unpleasant day if it rained.
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I managed the park while Liz continued running the farm.
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And the venture succeeded very quickly.
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We lengthened the railway and made its surroundings more attractive.
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We planted trees which brought in more wildlife and cut sections of track through the rock.
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How large is the operation now?
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We now open throughout the year and Windridge has become one of the area's leading visitor attractions.
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About 50,000 people come annually and since the park began, the total has reached one and a half million.
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Before you hear the rest of the interview, you have some time to look at questions 14 to 20.
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Now listen and answer questions 14 to 20.
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Those numbers forced us to expand and the park is now very much a family enterprise.
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I'm approaching retirement so these days I concentrate on the machinery and make sure the engines keep working.
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Liz puts all her effort into recruiting and supporting the large team of staff who keep the park operating smoothly.
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Your children work there too, don't they?
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After spending several years as a teacher, Sarah returned and now ensures that visitors have food and drinks.
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That keeps her extremely busy.
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Duncan has been a key member of the park for the past decade.
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He took over construction work from me which I'll return to shortly.
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His new wife Judith has also joined us and is responsible for the shop.
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Retail is growing rapidly because so many visitors want souvenirs.
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Have you stopped developing the site for the time being?
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We're always considering new ways to give visitors more to do.
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The railway is still the heart of the park and we have laid 1.2 kilometers of track so far, but we want to extend it.
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The local geology makes tunnel construction our greatest challenge, although we are gradually dealing with it.
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We're also delighted with the new go-kart arena which covers 120 square meters.
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Geology caused difficulties there as well because several mounds had to be removed from the track for safety.
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We designed the arena for children aged 5 to 12.
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The most popular vehicle is the Formula One cart and children have even argued over whose turn it is.
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And then finally to our most recent development which is the landscape.
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That is the end of part two.
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You now have one minute to check your answers to part two.
