Dates and times to visit Narnia in Helston at Methodist church

Central Methodist Church Helston is hosting a Narnia Experience, and having welcomed schoolchildren for the past week it is now throwing open its doors to everyone from this Monday.

More than 850 schoolchildren from in and around the Helston area have been experiencing the magic with special visits.

They have begun by picking up their evacuee badge and train ticket, before climbing up the stairs to the first-floor chapel under a specially-created station tunnel.

Here they have found a cleaner to greet them, explaining that she needed help finding the four children from the book - Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy - before ushering the pupils into the wardrobe hung with fur coats.

Alice Attenberger welcomes people through the wardrobe

Inside they were greeted by real-life characters from the book, talking them through the story - from Mr Tumnus (Bobby Combellack) the faun welcoming them next to lamppost unexpectedly found in a snow-covered forest, to Mrs Beaver (Pauline Reed) in her kitchen warning them of the White Witch.

Picking small tokens up from each area they see, the children also met Father Christmas, a helper of the lion Aslan to explain the prophecy of Narnia, saw the weapons room ahead of watching a clip of the last battle, and then the stone table where a Aslan appeared to be lying there dead - before the sound of roaring suggests otherwise.

Bobby Combellack as Mr Tumnus

Pauline Reed as Mrs Beaver

Finally the children walked through a room with four thrones set with four crowns, with the cleaner explaining that the four children became rulers of Narnia, before leaving back through the wardrobe where they found author CS Lewis (Mike Trounson) to tell them a bit about how he came to write the book and the Christian messages behind it.

This week, from Monday through to Saturday, the experience will open to anyone to visit, free of charge, from 9.45am to 5pm, and again from 6.30pm to 9pm each day.

Father Christmas returned to greet children

Although the real-life characters won't be there, there will be statues depicting each of them and visitors will be given a guide explaining the story. Children who have already visited with school will also get a different experience, with a trail to follow through.

The church has been supported by congregation members and the local community lending items for the experience, including fur coats for the wardrobe and utensils for Mrs Beaver's kitchen - with Trevena Cross Nurseries at Breage loaning animatronic leopards to pull the witch's sleigh, as well as trees to create the snowy forest.

Mike Trounson as author CS Lewis