A miniature park is a display of miniature buildings and models , usually as a recreational and tourist attraction open to the public. A miniature park may contain a model of a single city or town, often called a miniature city or model village , or it can contain a number of different sets of models.
7-563: Babbacombe Model Village is the UK's largest miniature village located in Babbacombe in Torquay , Devon . The Model Village offers extensive award-winning gardens, set in a beautiful valley, showcasing hundreds of hand-crafted models and scenes. It was opened in 1963 by Tom & Ruth Dobbins, who had previously opened another model village at Southport in 1957. Babbacombe Model Village
14-456: A consistent scale ; varying from 1:76 as used by the intricately detailed Pendon in England up to the 1:9 scale of Wimborne Model Town . There has been a move away from the model village concept since the mid- to late 20th century towards a miniature park concept. Model villages are typically larger-scale, sit in a cohesive miniature landscape and allow viewing and physical interaction with
21-425: Is set in award-winning gardens that were created in a beautiful valley. It showcases hundreds of unique hand-crafted models and scenes, with lots of puns and humour. The site is set on approximately 4 acres (1.6 ha). There are over 400 models along with 1,000 ft (300 m) of model train track in the village and over 13,000 miniature residents. The models are mostly a humorous and generic portrayal of Britain through
28-591: The EastEnders indoor scene, the Mythical Kingdom and the fire-breathing dragon. The model village appeared in an episode of Holiday of My Lifetime in 2014 with Len Goodman and Matt Allwright . It also appeared on The One Show in the same year. In 2019, the model village was used as a filming location for Don’t Forget the Driver . During the summer months and for Halloween & Christmas,
35-582: The Babbacombe Model Village is open on select evenings for illuminations. Miniature village There is evidence to suggest the existence of private model villages and miniature parks since the 19th century, but it was only in the 1930s to 1950s that the genre became tourist attractions. Early examples include Bekonscot and Bourton-on-the-Water in the UK and Madurodam in The Hague. Most model villages and parks are built to
42-407: The decades, though there are some well-known landmarks too, such as Stonehenge. Names of shops and other features include humorous puns, such as Marks and Sparks, Woolies, Amanda Lofe - Home Baked Bread & Cakes. A. Kingbody Sports Centre ('Aching Body') and Terry Bull Gardening Service, and many more Some of the popular models at the village include the burning house, Stonehenge, the cityscape,
49-461: The exhibits, such as publicly accessed streets and urban areas. Miniature parks however, are primarily concerned with the display of exhibits in their own right, viewed from a distance. Model railways, rivers and roads may provide a continuation between miniature parks exhibits. Many Danish towns also have extensive miniature towns from historic periods (normally 1900s). Some of the most significant include: This article about an amusement park
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