Behind the scenes at Bondville Model Village as Yorkshire's last miniature village brought to life for summer season
This is Yorkshire's last remaining model village, bought a decade ago by a couple who thought they might like its tea shop.
Now, ahead of its reopening tomorrow as one of Bridlington's biggest tourist attractions, a flurry of preparations has been underway.
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Hide AdTo Tim Whitehead, who runs Bondville Model Village with wife Jan, it's been a long winter of painting and pruning and handcrafting dozens of doors.
He said: "The thing is, while it's easy to close at the end of summer, there's a lot to do to get it back open. We are very much governed by the weather."
Model village
Bondville, built in the 1980s, was one of three of its kind with the others in Hornsea and Withernsea. Now it is Yorkshire's last model village.
There are around 200 buildings. A working harbour, with fishing boats and yachts. Then a waterfall, canal complete with barges. An abbey, three churches, three pubs. Even a tiny cricket pitch.
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Hide AdThe Yorkshire Post makes an appearance, splashed across a billboard on the side of a bus. Then there's the Bridlington Free Press, among local businesses represented on site.
What it involves, said Mr Whitehead, is endless hours in his workshop, painting and preparing. There are 800 model figures, with each needing a new coat every year.
The boats, waterworn by summer's end, all need fresh paint. And with the 200 buildings, there's around 350 doors.
"These have to be handcrafted," he said. "And all that's before you even look at the grounds of course.
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Hide Ad"Because it's bespoke, and in miniature, it's harder almost. It is very much a slow process.
"Really, we don't get a lot of time off in the year," he added. "Getting ready is a major operation."
Workshop
The workshop has been busy all winter, while the gardens and grounds started to take shape from February. March winds and April showers mean this week has been busy.
Mr Whitehead said: "It's been an uphill struggle to bring it back to glory - I think we're finally there now."
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Hide AdAnd of the craft, he laughs: "We had to learn. I'm not a model-maker, by a long chalk. I was in the motor trade.
"I only bought the model village so my wife could have a tea shop. I thought I could probably sort the rest out. It's a much bigger project than I ever imagined."
There is something special about miniature models, he believes, which appeals to the child in us all. Dolls, dinky toys, tiny trains, all are smaller replicas of the real thing.
He said: "We are reliving our childhood with places like this. For children, it's the novelty, while for older generations they do appreciate the craftsmanship.
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Hide Ad"It's part and parcel of many people's childhoods. And it's the only one in Yorkshire. They are fewer and further between. There just aren't as many as there used to be."
Reopening
Bondville Model Village opens tomorrow, Sunday, May 1, until September, with new shops and sponsors, new boats and more to be revealed as the summer goes on.
Tim and Jan Whitehead, who purchased the business a decade ago, have now been given the "green light" to buy the land outright, opening up opportunity.
Mr Whitehead said: "We're now in the process of buying the land, so we own it outright.
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Hide Ad"It's taken a year to get this far, we've got the green light now from the council to buy it. It gives us an incentive to do a lot more. There's lots of scope."
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