In Western Australia in the city of Mandurah is a site that will intrigue all miniaturists. A sort of miniature theme park, the Abingdon Miniature Village provides a re-creation of historic buildings located in the United Kingdom. The village which took four years to create has been open to the public since March 2003. Located on four acres, the Village is comprised on scale model miniatures surrounded by award winning floral gardens. In addition to miniatures to look at, one can also play a round of miniature golf, check out a miniature model train town, get lost in maze or enjoy a high tea in the Ruby House tearoom. Visitors can also picnic and enjoy the latest addition to the Miniature Village of rare birds including parrots, canaries and exotic finches.
The Village takes its name from the town of Abingdon located in Oxfordshire in England which is known for the fact that it is the oldest town that has been continually inhabited in the United Kingdom. Some of the buildings located in Abingdon in England that have been created in miniature are the Church of St. Nicholas, the Abingdon County Hall, the Old Anchor Inn Pub and the Abbey Buildings. The miniature reproductions have created to scale with meticulous detailing. In total there are thirty five miniature buildings in the Abingdon Miniature Village. In addition to recreating buildings from the UK city of Abingdon, visitors can also see English miniatures of the Red Lion Pub, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and a traditional Village Green. All of the miniature buildings are handcrafted and unique. It is estimated that the larger buildings with more detailing have taken craftsmen more than 600 hours to build. Traveling through the miniature village is a scale steam train making the setting even more charming. To make the miniature village come alive, there are also miniature figures in and around the buildings. Visitors can see miniature figures in settings of a wedding, playing golf or cricket, having a pint at the pub, or attending church. The Abingdon Miniature Village continuously adds new vignettes and figures to the miniature village. The floral gardens around the village provides the miniature settings with a continually changing landscape, including more than 5000 annuals, 700 azaleas, wisteria, daffodils and tulips.
