My theme for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is – Places I Have Been. After some contemplation I decided to limit it to Places I Have been in the UK, this is because I have been to far more places in the UK and have very limited experience of places outside of the UK. I hope you enjoy my post.

X-tra Small

Okay I cheated just a little, with X-tra, but I struggled to find somewhere I had been that I could connect to a word beginning with X. There are a few places I have not been that I could have fitted in, so I will have to visit them for future A to Z Challenges.

Now I am not sure if you are aware of this or not but I am a big fan of Miniatures. Anything is a small scale is an instant attraction for me. So, as you might have guessed in my travels I have visited a few model villages. Now I had to look this up but there are about 30 model villages in the UK. They range from enthusiastic armatures who open their gardens to the public a few times a year to displays at major tourist attractions.

Unfortunately, I have not seen all the model villages in the UK but I have seen a couple. One which I remember well is Babbacombe Model Village, located in Torquay, Devon. Now I am not going to lie it has been over twenty years since I visited Babbacombe. In fact it was before we had digital camera’s so all our photos are in photo albums somewhere.

Babbacombe Model Village was a great day out. I have no idea why I am fascinated by seeing things in miniature but it is entertaining. I remember there being a replica of Stonehenge, and various well known buildings, all recreated in a miniature scale. Little people doing various things embellished the scenes. The gardens surrounding the village are also beautiful and well manicured. I remember it being a really great day out.

Obviously, as it has been so long since I have visited, I was looking at their website and they have lots of other miniatures there now. It looks a lot bigger than when I last went. They have created the Royal Crescent and the Globe Theatre in miniature. There was a photo of dragon on a castle breathing fire. It looks a lot more spectacular now. I will have to try and visit again, to see all the new attractions.

Another model village in the UK which I have not yet visited is Bekonscot. This model village is located in Buckinghamshire. I saw it on the TV recently, I can’t remember why, but they showed a photo of the late Queen and her sister Margaret visiting the model village as children. Enid Blyton also lived close to Bekonscot and is believed to have been the inspiration for Noddy in Toyland. There is a little model of Enid Blyton, sat outside her house on a type writer.

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Thank you for reading x