Can I do anything with my giant runner beans? I assume they'll be too stringy to eat them as they are.

[Meglet]

I've not kept on top of the runners this year and now I have loads of beans I need to pick.

Can I prepare them so they aren't stringy? Or can I pop them open and harvest the actual beans, and if so how do I cook them?

Yes you can cook the actual beans , I read a recipe somewhere recently. I seem to recall that they were recommended for drying and using to bulk out winter soups and stews, like a haricot.

Pop the pods (just like peas, along the seam), and cook them in boiling water, or fry them with garlic and butter, or put them in a soup. Runner beans are yummy, make sure you save a pod for next year's seeds