We present CCD BVI photometry of the old open cluster Berkeley 29 , located in the anticentre direction .
Using the synthetic Colour - Magnitude Diagrams technique we estimate at the same time its age , reddening , distance , and approximate metallicity using three types of stellar evolutionary tracks .
The best solutions give : age=3.4 or 3.7 Gyr , ( m-M ) _ { 0 } = 15.6 or 15.8 with E ( B–V ) = 0.13 or 0.10 , and metallicity lower than solar ( Z=0.006 or 0.004 ) , depending on the adopted stellar models .
Using these derived values , Be 29 turns out to be the most distant open cluster known , with Galactocentric distance R _ { GC } = 21.4 to 22.6 kpc .

Hence , Be 29 qualitatively follows both the age–metallicity relation and the metal abundance gradient typical of Galactic disc objects .
The cluster position and radial velocity , however , appear to link Be 29 to the family of the Canis Major debris .