Runner Bean advice?

The size does depend a bit on the variety, but I tend to pick when the pods are about a cm thick, the bigger they get can cause them to go tough, or stringy. The different variety scan be very different lengths, but C's. Often be up to and over a foot long- personally I like to pick them earlier, you get a smaller crop but they are sweeter!

Cooking wise we are a 'shredder' family, by this we slice the whole bean pod on a steep angle/diagonal giving you pieces about 2-3cm long, and about 1/3rd cm thick.
Then boil them up

You do see bean slicers for sale- some just go straight, some on the diagonal- these are useful if you have a glut and are making a Runner bean chutney- which is to me the best chutney in the world!

But I know different people treat them differently.

Hope that helps!

Thanks to the both of you for that. I will be going back in the morning to pick some.

Nearer the end of the season you can leave the last of the beans to go full term on the plant if you like, when the pods start getting quite stringy and the seeds swell up considerably. The beans inside can then be taken out, quickly blanched and frozen, or just dried and stored in jars. Most runner beans are heavenly outside of the pod ( a la Broad beans ), particularly in stews as a fresh bean without being frozen.