PECORAMA

[nigelb]

As I am down in Lyme Regis thought  we would spend a couple of hours at pecorama  . i though nice shop  nice gardens  maybe a ride on the  lil train . when i got there  i was some what shocked to find  its 9.95 per adult to see the exhibition  layouts  and the gardens ply 1 ride on the train . sorry but as i was the only adult out of 3 who was  really bothered about the layouts and lil train we  turned round and left. there was a group of 6 adults and 3 kids   who arrived as we were walking away who said similar.

I know these things are expensive to  upkeep   but surely they  could break it down better

say 2 for the exhibition , 4 for  gardens and 4 for a ride on the lil train 

Rant over

[JohnR]

We're going back down to Devon to visit my family in August, and we've been planning days out at various attractions. We've planned our various trips, and obviously costed them for our family (2 adults, 1 child). 

 

Pecorama is by far the cheapest, and both my lad and me will probably get more fun there than, say, the Eden Project. 

[TomJ]

Even my MrsJ who has little interest in trains loves Pecorama!! A visit there usually last several hours longer than we intended and is well worth it I think. Once inside its good value for things like ice cream, food and so on unlike a lot of attractions that ramp up the prices for a captive audience. I don't know how old your children are but the huge soft play is included and move loves it there. The local soft play is £5 alone!

 

Compared to a lot of other attractions it's very good value. The Eden project is £25 an adult. Theme parks like Legoland are usually £50+ per visitor.

[gismorail]

Would agree with the two above posts my partner and I visited last summer and had a wonderful time. Tina enjoyed the gardens and the train ride and we had a most enjoyable lunch which was very reasonable price wise and in all spent most of the day there so good value for money in my book. 

[a98087]

Was there at the weekend, and it seems good value, especially for kids as they get to use the outdoor parks, and the large kids soft play area,

 

The beer heights light railway is a lovely ride as the gardens are very nice and scenic,

 

The gift shop is also good as it's very well stocked and a huge selection of products.

 

Dan

[BlackRat]

We no longer have stay cations.....its to expensive!

 

The last time we had a two week say in West Cornwall, it cost us over 2 grand!

 

We now go abroad,nowhere at least it's sunny!

[HillsideDepot]

We no longer have stay cations.....its to expensive!

 

The last time we had a two week say in West Cornwall, it cost us over 2 grand!

 

We now go abroad,nowhere at least it's sunny!

 

I thought Cornwall was "abroad"!

 

Cross the Tamar and it's a different country, why else would I have been working with the engineers at Camborne bus depot one day and have a fitter ask, in all seriousness, "are you going back to England tonight?" (I was living in the far north at that time... Plymouth). And it's always sunny in Cornwall, I've seen the GWR/BR(W) posters.

 

As for Pecorama, the price doesn't seem too bad to me, it might be double the price of the average local model railway exhibition, but if you say £5 for the exhibition and £5 for the gardens & train ride that sounds good value. OK, you could argue that the exhibition is a 3-d moving catalogue for Peco, but how much do they charge for a paper catalogue these days?

 

Not that I don't respect the OP's opinion, but it's more a question of whether it is value for money for the individual than the actual cost.

[298]

We stayed in Lyme last year (Wife, 6yr old and 2yr old), and spent six hours at Pecorama- over half of that was on non-railway things. There really isn't anything else nearby that offers such a wide range of interest both undercover and outside. I take it you at least had a look around the shop to see items in the Peco range that you never see anywhere else...?

 

Not that I always agree with such marketing strategies, but there are ways to save such as booking online or with a voucher booklet.

Conversely, we spent the best part of £20 for 15 minutes at the aquarium on the Cobb.

[hayfield]

Where ever you go now its expensive, a tenner per person is the norm. I guess with the cost of land and rates, wages, health and safety etc and it being more of a seasonal attraction it all adds up to big overheads when open

 

If you were the only one interested in model railways then perhaps not the best of choice for the others, as the layouts are as much the attraction as the rides I cannot see having various levels of entrance fees. Having said that if we visit an old house, I let the wife go in the house and I wait in the cafe reading a book.And or pay to see the gardens

[davefrk]

So how much does one spend at a mid league football match which is only ninety minutes?

I think a tenner for as much as a whole day is pretty good, my other half enjoyed herself with the gardens and the views but, as has been said the railways were just an advert for PECO products as you would expect.

 

Dave Franks

[Clive Mortimore]

So how much does one spend at a mid league football match which is only ninety minutes?

I think a tenner for as much as a whole day is pretty good, my other half enjoyed herself with the gardens and the views but, as has been said the railways were just an advert for PECO products as you would expect.

 

Dave Franks

Hi Dave

 

A football match is more than 90 minutes. There is the excitement on the journey to the match. Meeting with mates on route, may be a bite to eat or a beer (or my case a coffee). The pre-match tension. The half time rush to get your Bovril and pie. The disappointment when your team loses again. The where the manager went wrong discussion on the way home. Well worth the money if that is what you enjoy.

[298]

 

A football match Model Railway exhibition is more than 90 minutes. There is the excitement on the journey to the match exhibition. Meeting with mates on route, may be a bite to eat or a beer (or my case a coffee). The pre-match exhibition tension. The half time rush to get your Bovril and pie to the club second-hand stand. The disappointment when your team loses you realise a layout you went to see isn't at its best... again. The where the manager whole exhibition went wrong discussion on the way home. Well worth the money if that is what you enjoy.

[davefrk]

Hi Clive, I know what you mean, we as a group do exactly the same:- There is the excitement on the journey to the show. Meeting with mates on route, may be a bite to eat or a beer (or my case a coffee). The pre-show tension. The lunch time rush to get your coffee and pie. The disappointment when your favourite layout runs like a dog. The 'where the club went wrong' discussion on the way home. Well worth the money if that is what you enjoy.

 

TFIC.

 

All the best.

 

Dave Franks

[davefrk]

Oooops, snap....

 

Dave Franks.

[hayfield]

So how much does one spend at a mid league football match which is only ninety minutes?

I think a tenner for as much as a whole day is pretty good, my other half enjoyed herself with the gardens and the views but, as has been said the railways were just an advert for PECO products as you would expect.

 

Dave Franks

 

 

Dave

 

The Peco experience is designed to be attractive to their mass market customers and give them an idea of what can be achieved, a bit like the smaller show gardens at the likes of Chelsea and other similar shows.

[Rivercider]

It has been few years since I last visited Pecorama, Mrs Rivercider was not so much interested in the layouts

and tolerated my childlike interest in the train ride. She did however enjoy coffee in the Pullman car and we both

like walking around the gardens, so all in all we both enjoyed it and thought the visit worthwhile.

 

I agree with Clive about football being a day out, with the 'what went wrong' discussion being a regular part!

 

cheers 

[Clearwater]

We're due to go on Friday. I don't think the prices are too bad. You can get a discount booking on line as well. If you compare to say a National Trust house, those are typically around a tenner entrance. A trip to Chester zoo was more than double that. Of course, everyone's perception of value is different.

 

David

[Zomboid]

I haven't been to beer in 20 years, but these days you can't get into anything much that's worth doing for less than a tenner a head.

[The Stationmaster]

As others have said it is very much a 'market price'  (a day rover or return ticket on the Seaton tramway is £10 for example) and it too has an 'attractive' shop at the far end).  It really boils down to what you want and what those with you want but overall I think Pecorama is fair value for money although when we were there a couple of years back we didn't sample the catering so I can't comment on that  (we'd been to the excellent chippie in the town).

 

Oh and the views are nice as well if you find the right viewpoints.

[Super D]

I should point out that it never rains in Cornwall - we only have liquid sunshine!

[Clearwater]

I should point out that it never rains in Cornwall - we only have liquid sunshine!

Good oh - we're due there on Friday for a week...

[Clive Mortimore]

My sister used to be a teacher in a school in Axminster, which had pupils from a wide area including Beer. I asked her if she had ever visited Pecorama, she hadn't but told me many of the older kids when asked what they were doing for their summer holiday's would reply " I've got a job on the railway". "The railway" being Peco.

[Wrighty]

We have been to Pecorama several times as a family. Whenever we go to Weymouth for our summer holiday, we always take a day trip to Beer as its only an hour away and the views along the way are breath taking!

 

As for the price, it is down to the individual how much they get out of the cost of the ticket. We spend several hours there and normally pay for an additional ride on the beer heights railway as my children enjoy it as much as I do.

 

We will be going again in September and cannot wait to see the exhibition again.

 

Chris

[Clearwater]

Per my post above, we went today. We were driving from west of bath to Cornwall and is suggested it as journey break. A good time was had by all. We ate lunch in the Garden Cafe which was reasonably priced and, as not part of a chain, the food was simple though good. I had ham egg and chips, my wife lasagna and the elder boy sausage roll (his choice).

 

The "PlayStation" is amongst the best and largest soft play areas I have seen. Our four year old thought it was great and had to be dragged out. There were clearly a fair number of locals who come regularly with small children using annual passes. We went on the light railway which junior enjoyed.

 

I found the exhibition limited to be honest. It's below the standard of what you see at most shows and has a slightly forced feel to it in the way furniture showrooms often do. However, the interactive nature of it to push buttons and make trains move is a winner with four year olds. Lastly, It's a good well stocked shop although everything, for obvious reasons is at full retail price.

 

Would we go again? If we were living locally, probably fairly regularly. It's impeccably clean and in our short visit there were outdoor play activities we didn't touch. We also missed the rail themed crazy golf... The views are spectacular and the gardens pretty. It's a well thought through place and there are considerably worse out there. Would I deviate more than 30mins? Prob not to be honest.

 

Now for the return journey my wife identified Taunton as a suitable stopping point. I agreed it looked a good prospect as reckon can squeeze in a trip to the West Somerset....

 

David

[Jules]

If you go in after 4pm it is £2.50 for a cho cho ride and entry to the gardens.  If you get there early, have a cream tea in the Pullman and wait 'til 4.

 

That's what we did on Sunday, avoids the crowds as well!