Cuddle Country Album

Here then is some more research material culled from the internet that I’ve been using in the design of my version of Cuddle.

Of great importance in getting the right “feel” for the layout is getting the structures built from the correct material. With Cuddle being a coastal location with rocky cliffs all around. It’s quite natural to assume that the buildings would be made of stone. A quick drive through the area courtesy of Google Earth showed that all the houses and farm buildings in the area are built of grey stone, probably Purbeck Stone. Most of the structures in the village of Kimmeridge have thatched roofs, which would be a no-no for an industry of this type. However some buildings in the area have tiled roofs. Too bad they weren’t pantiles as I have quite a lot of pantile embossed styrene in stock.

A typical small cottage

Another stone built cottage

For fun, I traced the routes of the tramways in the area onto a Google Earth photo, to see how it related to the modern features. I thought you might like to see it. It also gave me a probable location for the works. The black line is the route of the original Cuddle tramway line that inspired Andy Anderson's project.

Tramway routes from the map transposed onto the Google Earth view.
(X marks a possible location for my works “in real life)

This view across Kimmeridge Bay (geograph.org photo) gives you an idea of what the backscene should look like.

A view across Kimmeridge Bay. X marks where the shale oil works would
have been if it really existed.

All this should give you plenty to get excited about for the project. But there is even more excitement to come.