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All 26 Margate Attractions »

The Hornby Visitor Centre

Westwood Industrial Estate, Margate CT9 4JX, England
01843 233525
Ranked #4 of 20 attractions in Margate
4.0 of 5 stars 24 Reviews
Type: Speciality Museums
Owner description: The Hornby Visitor Centre takes you on a fascinating journey through the history of Britain's best loved toys. The Visitor Centre also hosts a well... more » Owner description: The Hornby Visitor Centre takes you on a fascinating journey through the history of Britain's best loved toys. The Visitor Centre also hosts a well stocked shop and the Just the Ticket Cafe. New for 2011 is a fascinating collection of models of British cathedrals, constructed by the mysterious architectural model maker William Gorringe over 160 years ago. « less
Useful Information: Activities for young children, Activities for older children
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24 reviews from our community

Visitor rating
    12
    7
    1
    3
    1
Date Rating
Ramsgate, United Kingdom
Top Contributor
58 reviews 58 reviews
Reviews in 16 cities Reviews in 16 cities
4 helpful votes 4 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 12 May 2012

Well worth a visit, the history takes you back to your childhood makes you realise how much you can do with trains fascinating

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See 7 more reviews by Sheree E for Margate
London, United Kingdom
Contributor
12 reviews 12 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 9 May 2012
1
person found this review helpful

I didnt come to see the model trains just to buy a model kit, and some brushes. they had an amazing selection i was really suprised! also some stuff was on sale which was even better enticing me to buy more! i got some really good kits reasonably priced and had fun with my boy friend picking through all the... More

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See 2 more reviews by Pretty_vicki for Margate
London
Contributor
15 reviews 15 reviews
Reviews in 12 cities Reviews in 12 cities
10 helpful votes 10 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 8 May 2012

Wonderful shop with Scalextrix, Corgi & Hornby products, plus good exhibition of the history of the brands. Lovely models. Do go!

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Senior Reviewer
8 reviews 8 reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
4 helpful votes 4 helpful votes
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 7 May 2012

Quite a let down after a long drive. I was expecting a better display and more layouts with operating trains.they had only one operating layout nothing very exciting my layout at home is better. As for the overpriced understocked shop my local shop carrys a bigger selection, the only offers was on a few scalextric sets at half price because... More

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Sawbridgeworth, United Kingdom
Reviewer
4 reviews 4 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
4 helpful votes 4 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 30 April 2012

Fabulous for a 59-year old little boy! The Scalextric Competition was fun and staff were very helpful and cheerful - loving their jobs!

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See 2 more reviews by Vivienne D for Margate
Ramsgate
2 reviews
2 of 5 stars Reviewed 27 April 2012

Probably interesting if you're already interested and a model train buff, otherwise nothing to grab you. I'd thought kids would enjoy it but they couldn't wait to leave. Entry was cheap, though.

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St Neots
2 reviews
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 14 April 2012

Good displays and working tracks. Fantastic craft area where you get to make and paint your own airfix model.

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London, United Kingdom
Senior Contributor
28 reviews 28 reviews
Reviews in 12 cities Reviews in 12 cities
31 helpful votes 31 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 11 April 2012

Brings out the child in every one fantastic display and plenty to do. Well worth visiting rain or shine

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1 review
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 8 April 2012

The exhibition was very good but the major highlight was building Subaru Imprezas in their organised event (check website for dates they are doing it) - included in the entrance fee. They had no issue with the adults building their own kits too - it kept us amused for far too long :-)! Very well set up, loads of tables... More

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Brighton, United Kingdom
Contributor
11 reviews 11 reviews
Reviews in 11 cities Reviews in 11 cities
30 helpful votes 30 helpful votes
2 of 5 stars Reviewed 7 April 2012

We visited the Hornby Visitor Centre and the Cathedral Models Exhibition today. Whilst it was great to see the model train layouts and the exhibits in the cases, I didn't think it was very well laid out - making it difficult to know whether you had actually seen everything. There was no natural flow-through. The model railway layout was excellent... More

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