Not actual size
I was thinking about having a Miniature Week as I've got a pile of things that are smaller than actual size to write about. But I don't know if I can string it out for a week, so here's one of them - Corfe Castle Model Village, which we visited on our recent trip to Dorset.
I am mildly obsessed with model villages. I don't think there are any in Scotland (are there?) so I remember a childhood trip to Bekonscot as incredibly exotic. On our road trips over the last few years I always look out for model villages but we've missed more than we've found. They always seem to be really badly signposted. So I've vowed to write up every one I can find for Nothing To See Here. So far there's only Blackpool and Corfe Castle, but hopefully the next trip south will yield a couple more.
If anyone else wants to join in and write one up, please do. It's interesting that the wikipedia entry for model villages concentrates on the other kind, the ideal community sort. Instead there's a fairly comprehensive list under miniature parks. The Model Villages Flickr pool also has some gems, national and international. See the International Association of Miniature Parks for the industry view. I bet their conferences are FUN.
Comments
i've a few photos and short review ofbabbacombe model village here:
http://www.funkypancake.com/blog/archives/2007/11/babbacombe-mode.html
and here:
http://www.funkypancake.com/blog/archives/2007/11/more-babbacombe.html
keep up the excellent work !
Posted by: funkypancake | January 31, 2009 10:08 PM
Corfe Castle model village is great. My wife took a nice picture there when we visited last year. You can see the real castle behind the model one!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lightreflections/2356063904/
Posted by: Tim Waugh | February 1, 2009 10:41 AM
Never been to the Corfe one – it looks great! If you ever come south to the model village at Bourton-on-the- Water in the Cotswolds, you'll have to get in touch: we live not far away from it.
Posted by: Philip Wilkinson | February 1, 2009 11:35 AM
Corfe Castle model village is great isn't it? The fact that it aligns with the real castle and also contains a smaller version of itslef (a miniature miniature village) is great. I totally share your obsession with miniature villages. There is a good one on the Isle of Wight which is funny because the Isle of Wight is sort of a miniature in itself so there is some sort of infinite telescoping going on there! But the absolute best one to my mind is Madurodam in The Hague which is vast (in a miniature way).
Posted by: Charles | February 1, 2009 10:34 PM
@Dave - great photos. That looks amazing. Bit out of the way for us but we'll get there one day...
@Tim - lovely photo. Nice how it's hard to tell them apart at first.
@Philip - Thanks. We may well do that!
@Charles - I've heard so many great things about the Isle of Wight. It sounds amazing. Ditto, Madurodam. Thanks for the tips, these are all going on the list.
Posted by: Anne | February 1, 2009 10:57 PM
have you seen Liam Bailey's book called Forever England - photos of Beckonscot. We loved it so much we had to go to his studio and buy a photograph.
Posted by: maj | February 2, 2009 12:09 PM
Yes! I just got it at Christmas. Was planning to blog about it tonight. Couldn't get all the model village news into one post. Good to know you can get prints - they're such lovely photos.
Posted by: Anne | February 2, 2009 12:29 PM
Seconding the Bourton-on-the-Water model village. It's a stunning recreation of the town itself, including a tiny replica of the model village, which itself contains an even tinier replica.
Posted by: Jeremy Simon | February 3, 2009 12:01 AM
Any reason there is a cluster of miniature villages in the UK? I can't say I know of any communities in the US that reproducing themselves in a small scale.
Posted by: Robert | February 3, 2009 06:14 PM
I was hoping to find an explanation in some background reading, but haven't found it so far. I just assumed they were as popular worldwide. It was only looking at the wikipedia page that shows how UK-centric it is. Will try to get to the bottom of it!
Posted by: Anne | February 3, 2009 09:55 PM
Another Dorset model village in Wimborne
http://www.wimborne-modeltown.com/images/main-street_fp.jpg
Posted by: bareknuckleyellow | February 5, 2009 06:33 PM