The Cotswolds: Model Village

Although I knew it would be packed with visitors, my main objective in going to Bourton on the Water was, as I said, yesterday, a nostalgia trip to reconnect with childhood memories. My parents took me several times to visit the Model Village, a one-ninth scale replica of the centre of the village. Commissioned by the landlord of the Old New Inn, it was built in 1937 in the back garden of the pub and it is still there. As a child in the 1950s I was utterly charmed by it, carefully picking my way along the streets and across the bridges, peering into gardens and windows. It is still much the same, though some buildings, made of the same local stone as the actual village, are crumbling and some areas have been refurbished or rebuilt. It cost me £3.20 to get in - a small price to pay for an hour or so of revisiting happy memories and taking new delight in the craftsmanship of the model. 

I showed the war memorial in the centre of the village, beside the river, in my photos yesterday, and the church too. They are both there in the model. The gardens have been carefully trained to have miniature trees and the detail is still exquisite.

Many of the shops are signed as they currently are, including the ironmongers. Below left is a photo of the actual shop in the village and below right is the model.