Hotels near the Babbacombe Model Village

Few labours of love can match the extraordinary efforts of Thomas Ernest Dobbins, who died in 1997. He was a Lancastrian architect in Torquay who devoted 50 years to creating a model village of the West Country at 1/12 of its original scale. His famous creation has more than 400 models set in beautifully landscaped grounds, which bloom with flowers each summer.

From Stonehenge to labourers' thatched cottages; from Tudor merchant houses on narrow, cobbled streets to Georgian manor houses set in sculpted parkland and a classic vintage 'O' Gauge model railway, this model village faithfully recreates not only the people and architecture, but also the open moorland, intricate coastline and steep valleys of the West Country.

Come between Whitsun (May) and September and you can visit after dark, when every little house is illuminated. During these months there is also a complimentary old-fashioned, Edwardian bus which transports visitors to the village from the waterfront, via the pretty coastal road.