The historic Southport Model Railway Village is celebrating its 30th birthday today!
The popular family attraction, situated at Kings Gardens, was officially opened by Jason O’ Mara on 4th May 1996, after he won a competition in the Southport Visiter.
One of Southport’s longest-established attractions reopened for the forthcoming season last weekend (on Saturday, 25th April 2026) and has been enjoying a busy May Bank Holiday Weekend with the Big Top Festival bringing thousands of visitors into town.
Owners Ray and Jean Jones said:
“On the 4th of May the Model Railway Village is 30 years old.
“We must thank all the people that were involved initially with the design and creation of the attraction – without you we would have not have survived.
“In addition we must thank Graham Haywood the Chief Executive of Sefton Council in 1996, Westminster Bank and also the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) for helping to support the project come into fruition.
“To date, we have seen hundreds of thousands of little rail and model enthusiasts from all over the world enjoy every moment of their visit to the village.
“For the future, my wife and I are looking forward to continuing to entertain visitors to this great attraction and to this wonderful town for the foreseeable future. Thank you.”
The last model railway village of its kind in the UK is set in one and a half acres inside the historic King’s Gardens, situated on the Lower Promenade, next to the shores of Southport’s Marine Lake.
It is among a superb series of great family attractions in the Kings Gardens area, including Masters Crazy Golf, Silcock’s Carousel, Silcock’s Funland, the boats on the Marine Lake, Adventure Coast Southport, and an adventure playground.
Owners Ray and Jean Jones are delighted to welcome the latest generations of visitors and are looking forward to a busy summer holiday season.
The model village followed in the footsteps of the famous ‘Merrivale: The Land of the Little People’ – Lancashire’s answer to Lilliput – which was opened by the Dobbins family and operated from 1957 until 1986.
That attraction was part of a large site on the edge of Southport town centre which was cleared to make way for the Sibec development, which never came to fruition, with part of that land now occupied by the Morrisons supermarket.
Local people and holiday makers alike were thrilled when Ray and Jean subsequently worked with Sefton Council to open their new Southport Model Railway Village as a new attraction for the town in 1996.
This spectacular attraction consists of beautiful vistas and fabulous panoramic views of the miniature landscape and railway layout.
Based upon typical southwest Lancashire architecture the site consists of a country scene, village and town. Movement is generated by one of the largest 45mm garden railway systems in the UK.
Southport Model Railway Village has been designed for easy access for wheelchairs and double buggies, with accessible toilet facilities.
The venue is open weekends, bank holidays and local school holidays, opening at 10.30am and closing at 5pm, with the last people admitted by 4pm.
Ray Jones said: “This is the only model railway village of its kind in the country.
“The model railway village is a unique attraction in the town and in the seafront area.
“It is a very attractive area. The Marine Lake is fantastic, it is a beautiful place to be. There are lots of things for people to enjoy all around it.
“We have boats on the lake, Funland, the adventure playground at King’s Gardens, Southport Pleasureland, and the yacht clubs.
“The rapport between ourselves and our customers is second to none. We have built up a huge following.
“Our main visitors are between one and eight years old and their families; but we attract lots of people of other ages too!”
- Southport Model Railway Village is situated on the Lower Promenade, Kings Gardens, Southport, Merseyside PR8 1QX. Phone: 01704 538001
- . Follow Southport Model Railway Village on Facebook here. Email them at: [email protected]
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