Inside UK's BIGGEST red phone box graveyard full of 70 rusting kiosks abandoned next to train line – and why it exists

Scottish Sun

5 days ago

There are three models of phone booth in the graveyard and one model is very famous
RUNG OUT TO DRY Inside UK's BIGGEST red phone box graveyard full of 70 rusting kiosks abandoned next to train line – and why it exists
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EERIE snaps from the UK's biggest red phone box graveyard reveal rows of rusting kiosks.
The chilling snaps show the 70 rotting booths stood next to the abandoned train line, but the graveyard hides a heartwarming secret.
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There are 70 rusting phone booths in the huge graveyard
Credit: Unicorn restorations
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The phone booths are being repaired for a very special reason (stock)
Credit: Alamy
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Many of the boxes were first designed back in 1935
Credit: Alamy
When mobile phones became popular, phone booths fell out of fashion and many fell into disrepair.
Left to decay, the 70 kiosks in Merstham, Surrey, are a sinister sight.
However, the kiosks are actually part of a massive restoration project.
Unicorn Restorations use the site to bring the boxes - which are a beloved national symbol - back to their former glory.
The site's hardworking staff spend 30 hours on each box, stripping them down and repainting them in the General Post Office's iconic red.
New glass is installed in the phone booths' doors to finish off the restoration.
There are also three different models of red telephone booths, including the original K2, the famous K6 and the modern K8.
The K6 boxes were designed in 1935 to mark King George V's silver jubilee and, at one point, 60,000 of the boxes were in use across Britain.
Often the boxes are used in films to create quintessentially British sets.
Film franchises including Harry Potter, Paddington and Disney's Christopher Robin are just a few famous productions to use Unicorn Restorations.
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The booths are available to buy too and are priced from £4000 to £20,000.
Nicolas Ritter, a professional photographer, recalled visiting the yard back in 2012.
He said: 'Being at the telephone graveyard was a great experience for me. It felt like a journey back into the history of the country as the phone boxes are such a unique symbol of British culture.
'Viewing this museal location now after the beginning of a new age of communication the phone graveyard bears a mystic vibe of a past era.'
The news comes as plans are made for an iconic steam train to return to the nation's rails.
The 60163 Tornado will travel from London Waterloo towards Woking and Basingstoke from August 16.
It will follow the route of the classic ACE trains which travelled along the South West coast.
Kelly Osborne, managing director of The Railway Touring Company, said: "We are delighted to be working with the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust to provide opportunities for people from Woking and Basingstoke to travel with Tornado and for many more to see the locomotive in action.
"It is very exciting that Tornado will be back on the national rail network."
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The phone booths are being restored to be used on film sets (stock)
Credit: Alamy
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The phone booths have been featured in Paddington and Harry Potter
Credit: Caters News Agency