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344:. The project is now composed of the fictitious villages of Bekonscot, Evenlode new town and colliery, Epwood, Greenhaily, Hanton, Southpool and Splashyng, which are linked together by the model railway. It features replicas of some notable local buildings and contains features such as an airport, a cable car, a cathedral, a castle, a cricket match, pubs, windmills and a zoo. The zoo is named Chessnade after
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252:. It was opened to the general public in 1929 and three years later it had become a popular tourist attraction. By 1933, it was opened to the public every Sunday between April and September with the railway running and every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoon without the trains working. The entrance fee was donated to the
236:, and built an ideal English village with a church, railway and high street, illuminated by electric lights. Everything was constructed at a scale of one inch to one foot. The railway was 1,200 feet (366 m) long and had stations including a London terminus called Maryloo (referencing real stations
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Bekonscot is the oldest participant in the
International Association of Miniature Parks (IMAP). By 2020, Bekonscot had received over 14 million visitors and had become part of English culture. The village frequently appears on lists of recommended family days out. It represents an idealised version
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was opened to transport visitors. Bekonscot has become both a popular tourist location and a part of
English culture. It is commonly referred to as the oldest surviving model village in the UK and by 2020, had received over 14 million visitors. Authors such as
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track and are powered by electricity. Visitors walk through the model village and can also look down on it from different viewing spots. In 2001, the
Bekonscot Light Railway (BLR) was opened as a
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298:. By the 1960s it was owned and run by the Bekonscot Model Railway and Charitable Association. It is commonly referred to as the oldest surviving model village in the UK, although the eccentric
191:, UK at a scale of one inch to one foot. It portrays aspects of England mostly dating from the 1930s and contains several fictitious villages featuring replicas of notable local buildings. The
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which moves visitors around the village. The entire project closes over winter; smaller models are taken indoors, whilst larger buildings and the railway are refurbished on site.
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The model railway now has almost 10 scale miles (400 m) of tracks, with twelve stations and over 3,000 shrubs and trees. Trains run on a
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lives, was inspired by
Bekonscot. In tribute to Blyton, a replica of her now demolished house Green Hedges was installed in 1997.
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in 1937 praised the "flawless miniatures of wood and stone, metal, stucco, bright paint, and glass". Bekonscot, alongside
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Matless, David; Short, Brian; Gilbert, David (1 January 2003). "Afterword: Emblematic
Landscapes of the British Modern".
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was a
Beaconsfield resident and friend of Callingham; she set her short story "The Enchanted Village" in Bekonscot. The
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of traditional
English villages and its brochure states it is a "little piece of history that is forever England".
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in the 1920s by Roland
Callingham and his gardener W. A. Berry. Callingham's wife had told him to take his
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Froud, Daisy (November 2004). "Thinking Beyond the Homely: Countryside
Properties and the Shape of Time".
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and office buildings until the 1990s, when it was returned to the 1930s. By 2020, it had incorporated a
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set his short story "Scale" in the model village. Bekonscot also features in the non-fiction book
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1018:"Beaconsfield's model village is named as one of the best attractions in the UK – Do you agree?"
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in
Gloucestershire, inspired a trend for model villages in British seaside resort towns such as
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1111:"Book Review: Dreamstreets: A Journey Through Britain's Village Utopias by Jacqueline Yallop"
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Brown, Andrew H.; Stewart, B. Anthony (May 1937). "Bekonscot, England's toy-sized town".
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Swanborough, Nicola (7 September 2002). "Family outing to Bekonscot model village".
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1236:. Beaconsfield, UK: Bekonscot Model Railway & General Charitable Association.
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879:"Complexity, Scale, Story: Narrative Models in Will Self and Enid Blyton"
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473:- a book about alternative days out in the UK which features Bekonscot
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Modelscapes of nationalism: Collective memories and future visions
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and a replica of her house was added to the model village in 1997
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hobby outside their house, so he purchased four acres of land in
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Bekonscot Model Village and Railway was created as a private
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Bekonscot Model Railway and Charitable Association (1972).
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has almost 10 scale miles (400 m) of tracks and in 2001, a
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Forever England: Photographs from Bekonscot model village
453:
Dreamstreets: A Journey Through Britain's Village Utopias
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987:"Family-Friendly Things To Do Within An Hour Of London"
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grew up nearby and has written the official guidebook.
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Bekonscot was updated with recent developments such as
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reported that Toyland, where her fictional character
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on her eighth birthday. An article published in the
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302:constructed a village called Fladbury at his home
811:"Model village brought back to life in Cotswolds"
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927:Bekonscot – Historic Model Village & Railway
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268:In 1934, Bekonscot was visited by the young
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965:. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
441:was inspired by Bekonscot when she wrote
1616:Miniature railways in the United Kingdom
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841:"Just for Fun – Bekonscot Model Village"
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1606:Tourist attractions in Buckinghamshire
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1505:Thorne Memorial Park Miniature Railway
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851:from the original on 18 September 2018
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18:Model village in Beaconsfield, England
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629:"Model villages aren't just for kids"
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410:Model of a burning house at Bekonscot
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258:Queen's Institute of District Nursing
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899:from the original on 20 October 2021
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701:. Outlook Publishing. pp. 65–66
639:from the original on 31 January 2021
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534:McFadden, Dorothy Loa (March 1969).
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306:in 1907, which has been restored by
1621:Model railway shows and exhibitions
1455:Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
1121:from the original on 7 October 2022
1028:from the original on 19 August 2021
997:from the original on 5 October 2022
833:
692:
212:have been inspired by the village.
177:Bekonscot Model Village and Railway
13:
1515:Wells and Walsingham Light Railway
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1152:from the original on 21 March 2023
1016:Richings, James (14 August 2021).
821:from the original on 15 March 2019
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542:. Rotary International. p. 55
14:
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1180:Bekonscot: The Tim Dunn Interview
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53:
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1365:Eastleigh Lakeside Steam Railway
722:Geographies of British Modernity
627:Bratby, Richard (23 July 2020).
52:
45:
1435:Paradise Park Railway, Cornwall
1340:Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway
1140:Kennedy, Maev (3 August 2004).
1082:Bray, Paul (22 February 2009).
346:Chessington World of Adventures
61:Location within Buckinghamshire
1601:1929 establishments in England
1450:Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway
1350:Conwy Valley Miniature Railway
254:Railway Benevolent Institution
1:
1570:Sand Hutton Miniature Railway
1400:Harlington Locomotive Society
1196:. Stockport, UK: Dewi Lewis.
693:Roy, Anita (September 2008).
493:
1545:Markeaton Park Light Railway
1490:Stapleford Miniature Railway
1360:East Herts Miniature Railway
7:
1480:Stansted Park Light Railway
730:10.1002/9780470752258.after
567:"A dream village come true"
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246:Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke
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10:
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1470:Saltburn Miniature Railway
1415:Lakeside Miniature Railway
1405:Hastings Miniature Railway
1390:Frimley Lodge Park Railway
1375:Evesham Vale Light Railway
1345:Coalyard Miniature Railway
1315:Beer Heights Light Railway
1305:Barking Park Light Railway
1280:Ridable miniature railways
1175:Official Bekonscot website
1061:10.2752/174063104778053473
665:. 24 March 1933. p. 7
663:Buckinghamshire Advertiser
573:. 14 April 1933. p. 6
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1560:Purbeck Miniature Railway
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1510:Watford Miniature Railway
1485:South Downs Light Railway
1410:Hollycombe Garden Railway
1385:Fancott Miniature Railway
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489:which closed down in 1986
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1500:Swanley New Barn Railway
1320:Bickington Steam Railway
1217:. Norwich, UK: Jarrold.
470:Bollocks to Alton Towers
352:; shops are titled with
1540:Dobwalls Adventure Park
1475:Sherwood Forest Railway
1214:Bekonscot model village
877:Walsh, Richard (2017).
479:- a Dutch model village
332:and added a replica of
1460:Royal Victoria Railway
1440:Pleasure Beach Express
1395:Great Cockcrow Railway
419:
411:
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381:7 1/4 in gauge railway
340:in the nearby town of
336:, a house designed by
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244:). It was designed by
197:7 1/4 in gauge railway
183:built in the 1920s in
35:View over site in 2008
1580:Wells Harbour Railway
1565:Radwell Manor Railway
1330:Blenheim Park Railway
1325:Blackpool Zoo Railway
1230:Parfitt, Ida (1962).
1192:Bailey, Liam (2006).
1084:"A walker's paradise"
485:- a model village in
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409:
394:
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1465:Ruislip Lido Railway
1420:Moors Valley Railway
1370:Echills Wood Railway
961:Padan, Yael (2017).
762:Architectural Design
753:Aling, Mike (2021).
536:"It's a small world"
487:Christchurch, Dorset
368:Dan D. Lyon and the
364:Miss A. Stitch, the
284:Bourton-on-the-Water
116:51.61361°N 0.64472°W
1355:Downs Light Railway
1335:Bure Valley Railway
1115:LSE Review of Books
518:National Geographic
444:The Borrowers Aloft
356:names, such as the
282:in Oxfordshire and
275:National Geographic
250:Maharaja of Gwalior
112: /
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1555:Plowman's Railroad
1445:Poole Park Railway
1380:Fairbourne Railway
1300:Audley End Railway
931:Jarrold Publishing
925:Dunn, Tim (2009).
695:"Little Englander"
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412:
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398:was a resident of
387:In popular culture
372:Chris P. Lettis.
360:Sam and Ella, the
322:
300:Charles Paget Wade
121:51.61361; -0.64472
23:
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1430:North Bay Railway
940:978-0-85101-435-7
817:. 15 April 2018.
699:Outlook Traveller
418:The model railway
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463:See also
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330:new town
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