It makes no difference which way you plant them, the shoot will go up, and the roots will go down, so don,t worry about it.

the white bit is where the root and shoot are in the seed. As Derekm says the bean will sort itself out. they land any way up in nature and grow correctly.

I'm a bit concerned but not very knowledgeable about this - isn't it a bit early to be planting runner beans? I've put off planting mine for another month having read the seed packet yesterday.

It certainly is after the winter you have had gattina. I always start mine off in 9cm/3" pots and plant them out april/may.

Yes, SBG, I was just following the seed packet instructions (bought in the UK) which say "Sow in April." Despite our weather having turned very warm (still a bit chilly at night) and sunny, I doubt it is reliably so, so was sticking to the guidelines. I must admit I am tempted to sow them now. Maybe half the packet now and half in a month's time. We don't have windowsills, unfortunately, and at the moment, it is warmer out in the garden than it is in the house! (that's 2' thick stone walls for you)

What a wonderful response - thank you for all the tips. In the meantime I have also been asking around Sheffield. I do volunteer work at the Sheffield Botanical gardens and have the opportunity to talk to other volunteers, many of whom are extremely experienced gardeners! Yes, I have planted these seeds too early - I did not have a seed packet to look at as they are seeds produced by my runner beans of last year! It has been suggested that once they sprout I should take them from the warm porch, pot them up individually and put them in a sheltered place in their pots outside with a close watch on the weather forcasts.