The Paralympics keeps getting bigger and better – and not just in terms of Great Britain’s medal tally, which in Beijing featured 42 golds, seven more than we won in Athens four years ago. The thing that struck me first when I arrived was the size of the Olympic site.

People talk about Sydney in 2000 as being the benchmark for the Games, but the venues in Beijing have trumped that. I was in awe of the Bird’s Nest stadium, which is an architectural icon and very impressive when lit up at night. The Water Cube was unbelievable.

In addition to that, all the venues were packed. The first week of the Paralympics was busy, but in the second you could hardly move. I could hear the roar from the Bird’s Nest down the road in my hotel, and when I was commentating on the basketball there were at least 12,000 spectators. The match between Great Britain and China attracted 18,000.

The Chinese really embraced these Games. Tickets for the Paralympics were a lot cheaper, which attracted those who wanted to be part of the Olympic experience, and no doubt they were fascinated by the skills of the athletes. A lot of families came with their disabled kids, who left wide-eyed, inspired and wanting to compete themselves.

The enthusiasm of the Chinese away from the Games was also appreciated. I went to visit the Great Wall of China, which the Ming dynasty architects hadn’t really built with wheelchair access in mind. My friends were trying to push me up the hills and suddenly loads of Chinese locals gathered to lend a hand and push me higher and higher.

This was the best-prepared British side to travel to the Paralympics, with the same benefits from lottery funding as their able-bodied counterparts. As in the Olympics, cycling led the way with 16 golds – four of them for Darren Kenny – and four silvers. The Paralympic cyclists work closely with the able-bodied team and the attention to detail paid off.

Eleanor Simmonds, the 13-year-old swimmer, caught a lot of the attention for her wins in the 100 and 400 metres freestyle. She is going to be a superstar, but you can see that she is a bit overwhelmed by the attention. As far as she is concerned, she is just doing what she does.

In athletics, I’m really pleased that David Weir finally got his gold in the 800 metres after struggling with a virus that cost him in his first two races, over 5,000 and 400 metres, and then initially having his 800 metres win overturned after an appeal about lane order. He then added a second gold in the 1,500 metres and I’m sure he will have a fantastic 2012.

In wheelchair basketball, the Great Britain men’s team had various problems, with three players going down with gastroenteritis early on and their coach having to go home ill, but they beat the United States twice to get the bronze medal.

A former Britain wheelchair basketball player, Helene Raynsford, became the first person to win a gold medal in rowing at the Paralympics and was followed by Tom Aggar. Rowing is a new sport and I’m sure that more nations will want to take part in it in 2012 but it’s great that we will have two Britons as the defending champions.

The British coaches sensibly brought over some young athletes, who they hoped will be stars in 2012, to watch and get the feel of the Games. Especially in wheelchair tennis where Marc McCarroll, 23, will be the British No 1 at some stage and Philip Cochrane, 14, is probably the most talented player of his age. They got to watch Peter Norfolk, whom I call the Quadfather because his wife recently gave birth, win the quadriplegic singles and are no doubt dreaming of matching him in 2012.

I wish I was young enough to join them, especially as I come from East London, but I will be 39 in 2012. I don’t miss the training and the travelling, which I did for 20 years for club and country, but I do miss the competition. Who knows? Maybe the old man will show up again on a basketball court in four year’s time.