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On our recent visit to that historical city of Canterbury, we called in at Bygones Reclamation, which we had heard so much about but never visited.

Our first impression on driving into the large car park was how organised things seem to be for a reclamation yard. The area covers about 1sq acre but all items such as Bricks, Roofing Materials, Reclaimed Timber, and Garden Statuary etc are laid out so that customers that are looking for particular items can find what they are looking for; though with so much stock to choose from it still can take some time.

After wandering around the outside for half an hour and trying to take in the vast array of original and reproduction garden ware, with everything from original water pumps to a pair of 12ft x 12ft French Chatoe gates with very large pair of stone columns supporting them, costing £10,000. I might add.

We then entered the large heated showroom, and were immediately confronted by a 5-foot plastic man in a Guinness hat with a sign offering us free sweets and lollypops, normally for the kids of course! We could not believe our eyes as we looked around this Aladdin's Cave with so much to take in, it would take half a day, everything from Georgian and Victorian fireplaces, to at least 300 stripped pine doors, with 1000s other items such as hand made pine furniture, chandeliers and wall lights, marble chimney pieces, refurbished cast-iron radiators, mirrors, church pews, the list seemed endless.

We were greeted by the owner Sue Thorpe and her husband Bob, who bought the business from the previous owner 6 years ago, as we walked round they explained when they first took over in1995 there were just two of them working 16 hours a day 7 day a week. Trying to get the business on its feet but also traveling round the country, buying all the things you might expect to see in a large Reclamation yard. They now employ 12 full and part time staff all from the local community, who between them offer a vast selection of personal services. These services include everything from door and furniture stripping with wax if required, grit blasting, on site or at Bygones premises, paint spraying, Custom making of gates, railings, window boxes, fireguards, rose arches, all made to order and specification, the repairs and construction of very nearly anything made from metal including cast-iron.

We visited on a Sunday morning when we didn't expect to see many customers but from the time we arrived there was a constant flow of people looking around and asking some very strange questions from the two main sales staff Steven and Stan who seemed to have heard it all before and were trying there very best to answer their enquiries and point them in the right direction.

We left Sue and Bob with other staff, loading items into customer's cars or arranging deliveries to all parts of the UK, and we carried on the B2068 for a mile where we sat and had an excellent Sunday lunch at the Granville public house.