Following on from the UK government’s announcement today that Step 4 of its COVID-19 RESPONSE− SPRING 2021 plan will be delayed by up to four weeks, I’d like to underline that the National Garden Railway Show, scheduled for Saturday 26th June, will go ahead as planned, because it was authorised under the measures applicable to Step 3 of the same plan, and that these measures have not changed. A small number of people have contacted the Association in the mistaken belief that Step 4 of the plan authorised the running of the show, so hopefully this confirmation will avoid further confusion.
The measures described by the UK government to stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), listed here, will apply to the show. These include the need to keep a safe distance where possible and to wear a face covering unless you have an exemption from doing so.
The show continues to run over two sessions, the first from 09:30-13:00 and the second from 13:30 to 17:00. It remains all ticket sold in advance, to fulfil NHS Test and Trace requirements. Tickets can be bought online here. There will be no tickets sales on the day and tickets for one session cannot be used for the other session. The closing date for online tickets sales is 09:00 Thursday 24th June.
To comply with Health England capacity limits for the Arena, we have made 950 tickets available for each session. As at 08:00 today, Monday 14th June, 49% of the tickets for the morning session and 38% of tickets for the afternoon session have been sold. There are still plenty of tickets available, but we anticipate based on what’s happened in the past, that ticket sales will accelerate as the date of the show approaches. If you wish to attend and leave it until the last minute to buy you ticket, you may find that your preferred session has sold out, so book it online here. Answers to Freqently Asked Questions about the show are here. Finally and as stated in the past, if having purchased a ticket you are subsequently unable to attend because you have been asked by NHS Test and Trace to self-isolate, you will be offered a full refund of the entry ticket price paid.
Carol and I recently attended an antiques show at the Arena, to see how it ran under the same COVID-19 restrictions as will apply to our show. We felt safe at all times, we were able to move around freely and other than the need to wear a face covering, there was little impact on our ability to enjoy the morning. We felt that the layout of the exhibits in the main hall was more tightly packed than will be the case at our show, so I’m confident that even if both sessions at our show are fully subscribed, there will still be plenty of space to move around. This will be a National Garden Railway Show like no other, but I’m certain it will still be very enjoyable. See you there 😊.
Alan Regan, Chairman & Membership Secretary