Merrivale Model Village Great Yarmouth Review

Disclaimer: We received entrance to the model village in exchange for this post, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

There is just something mesmerising about visiting a model village, I’m not sure if it’s seeing all the amazingly fine and accurate detailing in miniature form or if it’s the feeling of being a giant looming over the town/village in front of you which is most appealing – looming over anything in my case is a great feeling if I am completely honest! Being only 5ft 2 I still get excited when I hit my head on anything so being taller than buildings will always delight me.

Merrivale Model Village sits on the seafront at Great Yarmouth, next to the Pleasure Beach Gardens and really is a must-visit attraction when visiting this seaside town. Sitting on just over an acre of land there is so much to see and do inside this little village. A typical reflection of the English countryside just in miniature form. Not only are you greeted with amazing models and figures but also beautiful gardens, flowers and ponds to enhance all of your senses on a journey around the village.

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Merrivale Model Village Great Yarmouth Review

Upon entry, you find a circus tent along with the performers all ready to start their show and dotted all around the village you will find push buttons that either start accompanying music or set parts of the scenes moving in front of you.

Moving around the village following the winding pathways there is something to see all around you so do keep your eyes open and don’t race around as you will miss some of the hidden jokes in the scenes as you go around.

Harry likes to race around as quickly as possible and I found myself calling him back to see things he had missed. He sees a button to press and off he goes. I do really suggest taking your time and then you’ll really appreciate the workmanship which has gone into the houses, buildings and scenery around you.

The model of Buckingham Palace is marvellous, complete with mini marching guards and even the royal corgis, no detail missed and it really is amazing. Harry enjoyed pretending to be a towering giant, I think he was embracing his inner BFG!

Hidden within many scenes are hidden jokes that can be discovered if you look closely, from a crocodile chasing the golfers on the golf course, half-naked figures escaping bedrooms in the apartment buildings on the golf course to the artwork left by Banksy (sadly, this is no longer the original Banksy artwork as this was sold off for £1m at auction.

Look close enough and you’ll find the Denist and Optician’s building, and look even closer you’ll notice the name on the signs of these buildings – “Dr McCavity and Dr I. Lash” – just a few of the hidden jokes found within the village. There is also the “I Saw Em” – timber merchants, “Dimpled Balls” – golf resort and other amusing hidden features such as the runaway groom from the wedding reception.

All the way around this little village, you will find hidden jokes, buttons to press and even model cars you can drive around a track for £1. You can also feed the Koi in the pond (for 20p you can get some fish food by the pond).

Although the model village is small, by taking your time and walking around at a gentle pace you can easily spend an hour inside or even longer if you take a picnic to enjoy within the sensory gardens.

Entrance prices are £9.99 for adults and £5.99 for children aged 3 years to 12 years (under 3’s are free) – This is an all-day pass and you can come and go as much as you like all day long.

There is also a miniature crazy golf course inside which is included with your ticket price – you can play as many games as you wish. The balls and clubs you just pick up at the start of the golf course.

A little picnic area is adjacent to the golf course and there are toilet facilities available – we visited around 5.30 pm on a Wednesday evening – it was open until 9.30 in the evening as it was the evening fireworks were held on the beach from 10 pm. We found it to be very quiet at this time of day although the toilet facilities weren’t very clean at this time of day which was our only niggle.

We all really enjoyed wandering around this quaint and beautiful miniature village – or in Harry’s case, running around as quickly as possible pushing all the buttons before Emmy was able to.

As with all attractions, you exit via a gift shop – luckily the children were distracted by the Old Penny Arcade instead which was wonderful to see and for the kids to play on the old-style arcade machines. You can play these by changing up a £1 coin for 12 Old Penny Coins (the kids couldn’t believe just how big these coins were). There are so many wonderful old arcade machines and the kids really enjoyed seeing these compared to the modern ones they are far more used to.