Return to 'Spring Hill'

Category: Miscellaneous | Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2007 6:38 pm

This is a long story, but I'll try to keep it short.
Come May it will be a decade since I found myself in Wales following a business venture.
This is just a fond look back at a past pursuit that was, at times, exciting, and at other times, distressing.
Out of the blue I received a phone call from a fellow in Wales, inviting me to join him in his new outdoor project at 'Spring Hill', Devil's Bridge.
We hadn't met before, and his interest in my model buildings was the reason for ringing me.
He had already commenced the groundwork at Devil's Bridge in Mid-Wales, for a public park with a large scale miniature railway.
The site was some 7 acres situated above a steep valley, complete with natural waterfalls. Part of the grounds were to be left as wooded areas for walks.
Obviously I jumped at the chance to expand my product's image close to the major tourist attraction of Devil's Bridge, with its own majestic waterfalls.
And so, after speedy arrangements, I was on my way to Wales with an overnight bag, to reccy the scene.
Seven hours later, I found myself in the gathering damp Welsh gloom of evening driving down a gravelled track towards a 100 year old railway mess hut. This was the temporary accommodation/office of the project, and stood beside the Vale of Rheidol narrow gauge railway track. I was to quickly learn that the train passed twice a day, with a friendly hoot and a whistle, bringing hundreds of tourists up the line from Aberystwyth to the Devil's Bridge station terminus just around the bend.
After a warm welcome - we'd never met before - a hot meal, and a glass of scotch, the venture was gradually unfolded in detail for me.
The job involved my creating a model village for his proposed model railway. For those of you who know the railway product, it's produced by Lehmann in Germany.
The next morning we tramped across the railway track, through dew laden grass in the direction of his grounds. Work was already well under way in digging out a bank of slate to level off the model railway area. This involved a huge JCB. Basically it was a building site, with at least three months work yet to see it all finished. It was certainly an exciting idea, and expense seemed to be no issue here.
We took a walk around the rest of the grounds, looking out across the steep valley through fir trees. It was indeed a magical place.
My part of the exercise was quite open ended. To make whatever models I felt would be appropriate, all of which would of course be funded. I could also run my own shop there if I wanted, selling my product. In fact a small shop unit was eventually erected just for me.
This, then, was the start of a friendship which has lasted. Though we no longer share any business, I still visit him in Wales almost every year.
But back to the plot.
I accepted the challenge, returned back to Surrey and started immediately on the first model buildings.
Within a few weeks I was ready to return to Wales on a semi-permanent basis. I'd purchased a small caravan that I could live in for the summer (an adventure in itself), and this was towed back to Wales and parked beside the railway track. All my meals were supplied, so the van was just a place to retire to after two or three nightcaps in the mess hut with mine host.
During the next months we found we had a very similar sense of humour. Many an evening we would be reduced to tears of laughter over some silly comment one of us might make - the sort of laughter you just can't control. It could have been the scotch, and probably was. But it was one of the most enjoyable escapades. Camped on the side of a valley, making model buildings, shifting mountains of earth, creating overlooks into the valley...the days just flew by, with us both falling into easy chairs at the end of each day, exhausted and happy.
The weeks passed, the model railway tracks were laid, some of my models installed, and the proposed day of opening to the public drew closer and closer. Model railway items were arriving from America, along with complicated sound systems and controllers.
After a postponement of opening just to get as close to completion as possible, the kids at the local primary school were invited in with their teacher. The local press were there too, and the following week a good writeup appeared in the newspaper.
Hundreds of leaflets were left at hotels, van sites, holiday camps, shops, etc.
Eventually the big day arrived. I'd just finished painting a huge ten foot high sign for the entrance gates (at this point I was doing more than just modelmaking).
The gates were opened. The train from Aberystwyth could be heard whistling it's warning of approach as it rounded the final bend into Devil's Bridge station. Soon the first hundred or so tourists would be walking past our gates on their way to see the falls just up the road.
And that's exactly what they did.
They just walked past our gates to see the falls just up the road. Not one stopped to look.
There were couples and whole families; mums and dads pushing buggies laden with offspring, and much older folk looking like they wouldn't make it.
But none chose to see what we offered. Eventually, over the course of the summer months. attendance picked up a little, but not nearly enough to save the scheme. We had special days when children could come in free. Other days when adults could come in free with a paying child. Other days when anyone could come in free. It was crazy stuff.
A mobile catering van was purchased and setup at the entrance to try to stop folk passing. They sometimes bought an icecream. And continued to the falls.
The venture from then on just went slowly downhill. I returned back to Surrey for the winter, thoroughly exhausted from trying to help turn around the business, and depressed.
I returned again the next spring, but it was no use. The place finally closed at the end of that summer.
There were so many funny incidents of those days, ten years ago, that we now recall over glasses of scotch...returning once more (and for many years yet, I hope) to evenings of watery eyed uncontrollable laughter at the hopelessness of that project.

Above: Me providing some evening's entertainment in the Mess Hut during one of my yearly visits.
That crazed expression is probably a good reflection of the laughs we still share.
No more Mess Hut now - we've both moved on.

The grounds at Devil's Bridge were only rented, and the owners - skilled gardeners in their own right - re-adopted the gardens, ripping out most of all our hard work.
A middleaged couple, they discovered a new hobby of creating huge sculptures in cement. These were installed, and the gardens reopened a couple of years later as a lower key attraction. Which worked.
I'm showing two of the cement creations below, the results of what I believe to be of a very gifted man.
We really should have asked for his help all along!

Above: A colossal temple with Buddha. The domed roof was one casting!

Above: A rustic watermill nearing completion. The section of wheel is fixed to the bank and made up of concrete sections lowered into place. Upon my return a year later, I saw it with gallons of water pouring over the wheel and falling into a hidden recycling pump pit.

Wonderful stuff.

Last edited: Sun Feb 11, 2007 9:05 pm

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glendann wrote on Sun Feb 11, 2007 7:23 pm:

Oh what an adventure you had, the business.You can't call it a failure since you met a live long friend.I think it should have made it also the people were the losers.They missed an exciting adventure and probably will never know how much they did miss along their lifes journey.People go along and never see what is right in front of them.Just always keeping their heads in the clouds.That is a wonderful place to explore.Its a shame I will never have the chance to see what they missed .Ohhhhh what a loss.

Gardenstew wrote on Sun Feb 11, 2007 8:17 pm:

Very interesting entry Pete. I always hate to hear about a business going under especially when so much care and attention was put into it. I suppose it just hard to know sometimes what people want. I bet it was a stunning attraction while it was there. Do you have any photos of the models? I would love to see them.

As Glenda said it was a failure only in an economic sense, friendships were forged and memories were etched. That's a success.

pondlady wrote on Sun Feb 11, 2007 8:52 pm:

How exciting and challenging, Pete. I would have come just for the accordion playing.

eileen wrote on Sun Feb 11, 2007 9:24 pm:

I would love to see any photographs you have of your friend or the railway set-up you built together Pete. How can you possibly have failed when you found such a good friend, had, and have, so many memories and laughs together and enjoyed yourselves working on the project.

Desert Rat wrote on Sun Feb 11, 2007 11:05 pm:

I really like garden railways. That must have been a great time and one for fond memories.

devonpete wrote on Mon Feb 12, 2007 7:06 am:

Although it was a business venture with a painful sting in the tail, I wouldn't have missed it for anything.
Unfortunately it all happened before digital photography (for me at least), and the only photos I have are film prints. With no scanner now I can't post them. I tried photographing them but they are too blurred, and don't do the subject any justice.