There’s something reassuring about Bekonscot, which sits unobtrusive off the main street of Beaconsfield’s new town area. In an age of VR headsets and Skype, Bekonscot’s attractions are solidly old-fashioned.
And yet when it was new, it was so new that it was the first of its kind: the first model village in the world, opening in 1929. Over fifteen million visitors have passed through its gates since then – including the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. It is a not-for-profit attraction, raising money for various charities.
It would probably be better described as a model community, as there is more than one village. There is Bekonscot Town, the punningly named mining village of Evenlode and Hanton with its aerodrome. Some of the shops and buildings are based on real-life examples (the world’s smallest Marks and Spencer was added in 1990), while others such as Leekey the plumbers and Argue & Twist the solicitors push the pun envelope. There’s also a model of Green Hedges, the house where local author Enid Blyton lived… complete with Noddy in his car on the driveway. Beaconsfield has not always been quick to recognise the international fame and influence of Enid Blyton – but that’s a story for another time.
The main attractions – at least for the hordes of small children rushing round Bekonscot all day long – are obvious: the small model trains which snake through the scenes of shops and churches and cricket pitches and windmills, and the chance to ride on a miniature railway adjacent to the village. These simple pleasures, it seems, never fade.
