Kernow Model Rail Centre confirms Guildford in-store event for May 2026

Kernow Model Rail Centre is putting Guildford firmly on the model railway calendar again, with its annual in-store event set for Friday 29 May 2026 at 75b Stoke Road, Guildford, GU1 4HT. Running from 10:00am to 4:30pm, the day is built around the kind of close-up access that keeps these shop events worth the trip: manufacturers on hand with displays, special guests, new KMRC exclusive product announcements and offers only available to visitors on the day.

The practical appeal is obvious. Instead of waiting for a catalogue update or a social media teaser, visitors will be able to talk directly with Chris Trerise, KMRC’s managing director, and Graham Muspratt, the development manager, alongside members of the Guildford branch team. For modellers tracking release schedules, pre-orders and prototype changes, that face-to-face element is often where the most useful information lands, whether the interest is in future stock, layout ideas or what is likely to turn up next in the cases.

The event also underlines how much confidence KMRC has in the Guildford branch as a hobby destination. The shop has now been open for seven years, having started in May 2019, and this year’s gathering is the first of two KMRC in-store events planned for 2026, with Camborne following on Friday 11 September. That sort of repeat scheduling matters: it signals steady demand, not a one-off celebration, and it shows that a bricks-and-mortar model railway shop can still pull in a crowd well beyond a simple retail transaction.

KMRC is placing Guildford in the middle of a busy spring, too. Its exhibition diary also lists Key Model World Live for 25-26 April 2026 and Railex 2026 for 23-24 May 2026, so the Guildford day arrives just as the hobby’s event season is gathering pace. Free parking is available at Guildford College on Stoke Road, about four minutes’ walk away, via the car park off the second roundabout when coming from the A3, which makes the logistics straightforward for anyone coming in from Surrey or farther afield.

The scale of the day is telling. KMRC has used these Guildford in-store events to mark milestones before, including a fifth anniversary gathering in 2024, and manufacturer names such as Hornby, Bachmann and Rapido Trains UK have already featured in the shop’s annual open day format. With exclusives, guest appearances and trade displays on the table again, 29 May looks less like a routine shop event and more like a live snapshot of where the hobby is heading.