A new town has been built in Nottinghamshire, complete with a railway station, hair salon, supermarket, cinema and a local pub. But there's something unique about this new area.... it's just for kids.
The Old Vol in Caythorpe has become the first pub in the UK to create a playground with Tinytown Playhomes. Inside the fun-size buildings youngsters can style hair, watch a film and shop using props.
It mirrors the local area where there is a Co-op, a hairdressers called Steele Hair Design, a golden post box, and, of course the Old Vol - except the miniature version is called the Young Volunteer.
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The pub, which has gained a reputation for its fine dining food since being taken over eight months ago, and been awarded two AA Rosettes for dining, is popular with families. The new owners have recently added a stylish beer garden and the new playground NG14 World (named after the postcode) to keep younger visitors entertained.
Children can sit in dinky armchairs and watch films on the cinema's large screen TV. Peppa Pig, Frozen, Spider Man and Bing are screened on a roll. The hair salon, with its star-shaped mirrors, neon signs and capes, has wooden play scissors, clippers, straighteners and hairdryers.
Young shoppers can grab a trolley or a shopping basket to purchase cans of ham and soup, drinks and vegetables from the supermarket. The mini pub has a toy kitchen with utensils, pots and pans, a coffee machine, till, plastic glasses and even a sushi board, just like the ones served from the outdoor kitchen in the beer garden. There's tables and chairs inside and scaled-down picnic tables and parasols outside.
NG14 World also has a Mr Whippy ice cream van, swings and a slide, while the Old Vol Express train stands at Lowdham Railway Station. Lanes from the soft flooring roundabout lead to each building and the centre of the roundabout is a mini trampoline. It was the idea of pub owners Sean and Nicola Reddington, who have two young children.
General manager Francesca Hotchkiss said: "It's the first one ever to be in a pub commercially. It was inspired by the fun that our owners had and how they grew up in the community and how we really wanted to reflect that and make sure our customers really understand how much we appreciate where we are.
"It's really family-friendly, somewhere parents and their kids can come and enjoy the afternoon. We want to make it a destination where people can spend their time. They might want to go outside for lunch, have a few light bites, their kids can play in NG14 World. When 7pm hits they might want to come inside and have an early dinner, more of an à la carte experience, and then go home.
"It's not something people are just here for a two-hour turnaround, they could be here all day. We wanted to do something that was a little bit different."
Steele Hair Design is named after the real-life business in Lowdham, owned by Matthew Steele. He said: "It's fantastic. I think it's brilliant how much effort they've put into the local area and involving the local businesses." And he joked: "I think it's going to be massive competition. They have done an amazing job down there."
Francesca said the tiny town had gone down a storm with young visitors. "We get a lot of families. The kids go absolutely crazy for it. It's something they've never seen before so it's a really nice alternative to a standard playground. We've got swings but it's something they can interact with and something that reflects real life.
"We wanted to do something to cater for every sort of customer here. We wanted somewhere parents could come and enjoy the garden but also have somewhere for their children as well. It's geared towards children aged eight and under but what is good the older kids quite often go in with their younger siblings.
"We're really big on supporting the local community and using local suppliers, local staff and supporting any local causes and charities and we wanted to reflect our local area in our kids' play area so what better than to create a mini NG14 town. The cinema is just a little bit of an addition."
NG14 World is open every day from noon to 7pm, after which the garden becomes adults only. The pub also has pizza-making kits for children, supplying Old Vol chef aprons and hats, for them to load a pizza base with toppings. It's then cooked in the outdoor kitchen, which is open Friday to Sunday.
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