Bourton-On-the-Water Model Village can be found in the local Old New Inn and is a perfect one-ninth replica of the village itself.
Bourton-on-the-Water is a scenic village set in the heart of the Cotswolds, close to the River Windrush. It is conveniently situated for exploring the nearby rolling hills and pretty villages.
It is also home to the Old New Inn, a traditional country inn offering a warm welcome with log fires and good, homemade food. It is, however, more than just a cosy, hospitable pub, for in its beer garden lie two entire villages!
The Model Village is renowned both locally and internationally. It was built in the early 1930s by the inn owner at the time and is an exact replica of Bourton-on-the-Water, built at one-ninth of the village’s actual size. The creator has even crafted the model houses with local Cotswolds’ stone; as used to build the walls of many of Bourton-on-the-Water’s real houses. It was opened on the Coronation day of King George VI in 1937.
The model village contains a miniature River Windrush at a metre wide that flows through its centre. Its source is at a working water mill and the water then follows a path beneath replicas of five of Bourton’s famous stone bridges, on its way to the “Thames.”
There is a scaled-down Church of St Lawrence, from which it is even possible to hear the voices of the choir. Nearby is the model of the Baptist Church, the original of which was built in 1876.
The local shops such as the post office and the blacksmith are all reconstructed and there are dwarf-clones of the village’s houses as well. One dwelling has been copied in minute detail: the Old New Inn pub, as in its garden it is possible to find another model village, a perfect replica of the model village itself! The river in this village is only ten centimetres wide!