Beaconsfield

New Beaconsfield grew up around the railway station and is home to Bekonscot Model Village and Railway, the first model village in the world and now a popular visitor attraction.

First opened in 1929, old English life has been captured here with charm and eccentricity, taking you back in time as you marvel at the miniature details. From coal mines to castles, animals to aerodromes, there is much to wonder at among the tiny streets and landscapes.

Beaconsfield has a thriving performing arts scene. It is home to the Chiltern Shakespeare Company, which holds amateur summer performances of Shakespeare plays in the beautiful parkland setting of Hall Barn.

For a longer stride out, the Seer Green-Beaconsfield walk  is a 6-mile circular route through beautiful beech woodland. Between the woods, quiet lanes open out to wide countryside views. There is also a scenic linear route from Seer Green Station to Beaconsfield Station on the Marylebone line. If you’re looking for food along the way, The Jolly Cricketers is a gastronomic gem in Seer Green.

Beaconsfield’s closest wild spot is Warren Nature Reserve, a woodland just 3 miles away from the centre. The River Wye runs along the north-west border of the site, providing habitat for ducks, herons and kingfishers. There are accessible paths and parking in the village of Wooburn.

Image: cyclists at Seer Green. Below: Thatched cottages in Seer Green.

Beaconsfield’s pubs also have big-screen appeal. The 2007 police caper, Hot Fuzz, used Forty Green’s The Royal Standard of England as ‘The Crown’ during a dramatic scene. Seven years later, the pub was back in the limelight as Eddie Redmayne’s Stephen Hawking had a drink in ‘The Cambridge’ during The Theory of Everything.

The Royal Saracens Head in Beaconsfield Old Town featured in 1965’s Thunderball, while Hall Barn estate is featured in the 1981 Oscar-winner Chariots of Fire.