A new favourite and its not a museum! This one surprised me as it was just somewhere to fill a spare day and we absolutely loved it. As a fan of dolls houses I like all things miniature but this place is significantly better then the standard rather grubby and tatty model village.
Although it’s billed as one of Torquay’s premier attractions I didn’t really expect much of Babbacombe Model Village but it was great to be proved wrong
Its been open for fifty five years and has a population of 13,160 little people. It takes one and a half to two hours to walk round slowly but you will still miss lots. Luckily you are allowed to go back for free one more time within a week and you can do this in the evening for a very different view as it is lit up.
There is an inside section with an Eastenders set and a charming Victorian winter scene but the outside is much better.
Set on a steep hill you wander round the paths between the buildings. There is everything you can think of, a wedding scene, a cricket match, a football stadium, hot air balloons, a celebrity mansion and many more. All these in beautiful immaculate landscaping, we saw several gardeners hard at work. My favourite was the house on fire – real flames and real water for the tiny firemen. Some models even move as they wash cars and mow the grass.
The designers have a great sense of humour, a Jerry Builder is building a row of houses and the removal van belongs to Ditcher Quick and Hyde.
On the way out you can even play mini golf for no extra cost then have a drink in the tea room and a browse in the interesting shop that sells dolls house furniture among other things.
The amount of work and attention to detail that goes into this model village makes it a really special place to visit, perhaps not often but I would definitely go again in a year or two.
