English
Cockington Green
11 Gold Creek Rd, Nicholls ACT 2913, Australia +61 02 6230 2273 Website 9:30am – 5pm Canberra Campervan Hire
preferredcheery (contributor)
I have to admit being a little skeptical about this one. I didn’t actually visit it till I was over ten years in Canberra. Why was I skeptical? Well, I expected it to be a poorly maintained, worn out, overpriced and over hyped mixture of things that I wouldn’t be able to recognise.
When I finally gave in to going to placate some visitors for interstate I had to eat humble pie. This a fantastic (and very large) collection of top quality miniature representations of famous and not so famous buildings. The maintenance of all the exhibits, the gardens (of miniature plants and trees sized in proportion to the buildings) and the property in general is a credit to the owners of this family business and the, what may appear a hefty entry fee, is actually excellent value for money.
The property is divided into two sections.
The first and original section contains various English (and other British) village scenes replete with cricket fields, soccer pitch (complete with miniature streaker!), rivers and boats, train stations and “Inter-city” trains (big plus for me). Stonehenge, without the fence, is also featured. All in all, quite stunning.
From the village area you move into the international section which is of equally high quality and contains dozens of very recognisable exhibits. Being in Canberra, where all the overseas embassies are located, the owners have been able to benefit from various sponsorships in building and adding to the display without any obvious evidence of commercialism (apart from very modest acknowledgements). Thirty countries are represented and there is a waiting list for further exhibit spots.
While I didn’t do it, a popular way to get an overview of the International section is to hop onto the miniature steam train which circles this section.
The international miniatures include:
Street scene from La Boca in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway, Great Britain
Lahore Gate – The Red Fort – Delhi
Borobudur Temple, Indonesia
Groote Constantia, South Africa
Machu Picchu, Peru
Tenochtitlan Aztec Temple, Mexico
and lots more.
While there don’t forget to visit the Rose Room indoor exhibition, featuring Waverley’ a 34 room Dolls House. The detail in this is quite amazing.
To celebrate the centenary of Canberra in 2013 a model of Old Canberra House – one of the oldest building on the Australian National University is being constructed.
There is a café and souvenir shop onsite.
Opening hours – 9.30am – Last Entry time 4.15pm with viewing available until 5.00pm. 7 days per week (except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and in cases of extreme weather)
Admission cost:
Adults $18.50
Seniors $13.50
(60years & over)
Children (4-16 years) $10.50
Nb. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Family $52.00
(2 adults & up to 3 children)
Extra children with family $5.00
Miniature Steam Train Rides $3.00
Certain packages are available and 3 in 1 tickets covering Cockington Green, Questacon and the Australian Institute of Sport are available at discounted prices.
Have a look on their web site before visiting to see what’s best for you.
lonesomesavanna (contributor)
This was a return visit for me, as I had read that the gardens had extended, and now included THE WORLD IN MINATURE’.
Not only are the gardens beautiful, especially when I was there in October, but amongst the gardens is a miniature English Village. This is the “old” part, it doesn’t look old as its kept in immaculate condition. (see previous tip)
The new area features important buildings from different Countries around the World.
So far, 20 countries are represented, and more will be added. Once again, so well done, every building built to scale, and the Trees and Shrubs trimmed to size.
In both sections, you can push a button to set a Train going around its tracks, another button for the Windmill to turn, another for the Trams to go up and down the hill …….. children just love it here.
Every corner you turn has more beautiful views, turn around, and you see something different. I walked around it twice, found things I missed on my 1ST walk the 2nd time around.
There is a Miniature Train that you can do a ride on, it costs an extra $2, and runs every ¾ hour from 10am to 4.45pm.
Night tours can be arranged for groups and on special occasions
COST….. $17.50 IN 2009
OPEN….DAILY 9.30am – 5pm
LAST ADMISSION IS 4.15pm
gilliejohn19 (contributor)
This miniature English village is a delight for everybody who visits. All made to such detail, even the height of the shrubs are made miniature. As you wander around beside each little area, is signage about that particular village, I am sure if you are from England or have visited, you would be able to compare. It is very well done, with fine little details.
Spring is the prettiest time to visit, but it is nice at any time of the year. You can get married in this beautiful setting as well.
I walked around twice as it was so nice, and on the second time, I found areas which I had missed the 1st time.
It’s only 15minutes from Canberra central.
ADMISSION IN 2009 was $17.50
jasmineu (contributor)
After walking around the gardens, I then headed into “old English building” to see the Doll houses.
These are not the usual run of the mill Dolls Houses. There were about three different ones. They could never be played with, only ever admired, as a lot of work has gone into these.
Some people are so clever, one in particular was a real masterpiece. It was named “WAVERLEY” and was done as a 34 room Aristocrat’s English home, it had so much detail in every room, a credit to the person who did it!
Also on loan to the Village, was a collection of Dolls from around the World, quite a few unusual ones in a good display.
This area led to the “Parsons Nose Garden café,” where light lunches including wine & beer could be enjoyed, either inside or outside.
It was open from 10 – 3.30pm daily.
There is also a playground if you have children, this is open from 9.30 – 4.45pm
The last stop before exiting , was the Souvenir shop selling the usual items including miniatures, dolls and teddy bears.
This was open from 9.30 – 5pm.
At the plant shop, Perennial plants, small shrubs & Trees are for sale.
Off street, FREE car parking is available.
screendartford (contributor)
Cockington Green Gardens
11 Gold Creek Rd
Nicholls, ACT 2913, Australia
+61 2 6230 2273
My wife’s cousin brought us to this nice place of miniature houses called Cockington Green in Canberra. My wife loved it a lot! The little houses were so cute and so painstakingly made, you are simply amazed by the detail.
This beautiful garden of little architectural delights was opened in 1979, a creation of the family of Doug and Brenda Sarah Cockington. It has a wonderful international collection of miniatures, including an English Village while a miniature Steam Train Ride brings you around the whole complex. There is also the Rose Room indoor exhibition, which features Waverley’ (a 34 room Dolls House) ,and after that enjoy a coffee in the Parsons Nose Garden Café. Truly a nice place to spend a couple of hours or so while in Canberra.
Opening Times
Entry from 9.30am – Last Entry time 4.15pm with viewing available until 5.00pm
Minimum viewing time recommended – 1 Hour
Open 7 days a week (Closed Christmas Day & Boxing Day)
The display may be closed in event of extreme weather.
Transport
Cockington Green Gardens is located at Gold Creek Village, 10 minutes from Canberra City Centre.
Car and Coach parking are available. Public transport is also available, please refer to options listed below.
Action Buses
Ph 11710
Local bus service operating daily from: City & Belconnen,
Bus Routes 50 / 51 / 52
colcaramel (contributor)
I must admit I tend to approach model villages with some reservation, anticipating an element of high ‘tackiness’. Cockington Green surprised me somewhat, as its quite a ‘discrete’ and well thought out village. Opened in 1979, the original displays were models based on English village life. So thankfully, no garish models of Big Ben or Buckingham Palace, but laid out models complemented by flower beds and miniature shrubs.
(see separate tip for international models)
Entry from 9.30am – Last Entry time 4.15pm with viewing available until 5.00pm
Open 7 days a week (Closed Christmas Day & Boxing Day)
Entry fees:
Adults $16.50: Seniors $11.50: Children (4-16 years) $ 9.00: Family $45.00 (2 adults & up to 3 children
plus
Miniature Steam Train Rides $ 2.00
hailindianapolis (contributor)
A new edition to the Gardens is the international section – an opportunity for the model-makers to excel in some extraordinary models. But again, interesting thing is that there are no obvious major landmarks represented – so no Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty etc… There are a number of buildings that are likely to be relatively unknown outside the specific country.
And, Cockington Green has taken advantage of the fact that Canberra, as capital, is the home of the overseas embassies. So they have succeeded in getting 21 embassies, and therefore countries, represented (and, at a guess, paying).
There’s also the little steam train that runs round the international section (twice round) giving you a perspective of the whole.
johns_scone (contributor)
This is one of “must see” sight in Canberra City. As far as I remember, it was 10-15 minutes drive from Canberra Parliament House.
If you wish to visit the entire world in one hour then visit Cockington Green Garden.
It’s a display of magnificent miniature of different famous attractions representing each country. The small replica are well crafted and made carefully so as to get the exact facade.
When I visited June of 2010, it was not a good season for flowers and as you notice in my photos that plants are newly planted.
Floriade (a season for flower in Canberra is on September) is the best time to visit here.
