評論
打印
For the second in our series about locally-run businesses, we meet Simon Winridge, co-founder of the hugely-successful Winridge Forest Railway Park. Welcome, Simon.
在我們關于地方商業系列的第二期節目中，我們請到了Simon Winridge，Winridge森林鐵路公園的共同創辦者，該公園取得了巨大的成功。歡迎西蒙。
Now, perhaps you can begin by telling us a little bit about how it all started.
現在，或許你可以先告訴我們這一切是如何開始的？
Well, during the 1970s, my wife, Liz and I had just acquired 80 acres of sheep-farming land, and we decided to settle down and have children.
在20世紀70年代，我的妻子莉茲和我買了80英畝的牧羊場，我們決定在這里安頓下來，養育孩子。
Pretty soon we had a daughter, Sarah, and a son, Duncan.
很快，我們有了一個女兒莎拉和一個兒子鄧肯。
The place was wonderful for the kids: they particularly loved trains and gradually built up an enormous network of miniature railway track.
這里很適合兒童，他們特別喜歡火車，逐漸建立了一個微型鐵路軌道的巨大網絡。
I began to develop larger-scale models of locomotives
我開始做一些火車的大型模型，
but we didn't think anything more of it until I went on a trip to a theme park near Birmingham and decided we could do a much better job!
但是我們沒有想得更遠，直到我去了伯明翰附近的主題公園，我決定我們應該可以做得更好！
So we set up a small one ourselves based on the miniature railway and we opened to the public for just a month that year, 1984 in July - our driest month
所以根據微型的鐵路，我們建立了一個小型公園，我們在1984年7月向公眾開放了一個月，也是這里最干燥的月份，
because our children said they didn't want our guests to have a miserable, wet visit.
因為我們的孩子說他們不希望我們的客人有一個痛苦的潮濕之旅。
I dealt with Park business and Liz carried on with the farm work.
我處理公園事物，莉茲繼續農場的工作。
It soon became clear that we were onto a winner.
我們很快發現自己成功了。
We began to extend the railway track and lay it among more interesting landscape by planting trees, which inturn attracted more wildlife,
我們開始拓展鐵軌，通過種樹和開鑿巖石將它延伸到更有意思的風景區，
and by making cuttings through the rock.
吸引更多的野生動物。
Nowadays, we're open all year round and we're pleased to say that Winridge is one of the most popular visitor attractions in the area with 50, 000 visitors a year
現在，我們全年開放，我們很高興地說Winridge是該地最受歡迎的景點之一，一年接待5萬名游客。
a million and a half people have been through our doors since we opened.
自從開放以來，有150萬游客來此參觀。
