A visit to Bekonscot Model Village

Whilst visiting my parents during the Easter break, 10 of us took a family trip to Bekonscot Model Village. I last went there with 3 of my school friends for my 13th birthday treat. How times have changed. Although very popular, I didn’t see any teenagers there now, so not a cool young persons destination any more, but great for family fun.

The history indicated that the village was opened back in 1929 and that the Queen visited it as a child. Exhibits are are still being added and replaced today. It also mentioned that there used to be over 50 model villages in the UK, but sadly very few left now. When Ramsgate model village closed down, some of their houses were relocated to Bekonscot.

We spent about 4 hours there and walked round the village several times over. Each time I spotted things I had missed before. The adults had a good giggle at the puns on a lot of the names, like Dan D Lyon Florists and the school with headmaster I Cane and caretaker B Tidy. And it was fun to peer inside the properties to see the characters like a child with a saucepan stuck on his head in the hospital. There was even a zoo, a maze (Hanton Court Maze), a circus, a funfair, a thatched cottage on fire and music playing from the bandstand. The boys both liked watching the trains travelling round the village best. There was also a slightly larger model railway for them to ride on and a playground.

So much thought has gone into it. I definitely recommend a visit. A great day out. And it was nice to see that all profits are donated to charity.

Although there was a cafe, we took a picnic lunch with us, including Mr Kipling Bakewell Slices for afters, as a day out is always better with cake. Son1 even had two slices!

So have you ever visited a model village. And if so, which one?

This post is an entry for #betterwithcake Linky Challenge, sponsored by Mr Kipling. Learn more at https://www.facebook.com/mrkiplingcakes. I missed out on getting the free cake, but bought a pack to take part in the challenge.