Cafes, Coffee Shops and Tearooms, Activities

Machinations Visitor Centre

The Old Village Hall, Llanbrynmair, nr Machynlleth, Powys SY19 7AA

Tel: 01650 521738  Fax: 01650 521635

e-mail: machinations@btconnect.com

website: www.machinationswales.com

Machinations Visitor Centre is a celebration of ingenuity, artistry and craftsmanship, a marvellous museum of mechanical magic in a lovely setting by the River Severn in the very heart of Wales. At the centre of the enterprise, which is housed in the extended Old Village Hall, is the only permanent exhibition of contemporary automata in the UK.

Automata are essentially moving figures, tableaux and sculptures that may be hand-turned, wind-driven or powered by electricity or clockwork, and visitors of all ages can watch fascinated as the models spin and whirl and bob, their mechanisms displaying a variety of cogs and cams and levers. The original models were collected and shown by Pat Osborne in Liverpool; later consigned to storage, they were brought to Llanbrynmair - and considerably added to - by Eric and Alison Williamson as an extension to their model making and design company.

Timberkits are a range of mechanical models and kits designed by Eric, who started in the 1970s making rocking horses and marionettes. The business expanded rapidly from small batch production here to mass production in China. The models - the range now extends to more than 20 - are still designed and prototyped here in Wales, and the shop at the centre sells them in kit form or assembled, with an option of electric operation. Timberkits also makes and sells a wide range of plywood puzzles based on animals, transport and buildings. The shop sells many other interesting toys and gifts with the emphasis on craft and creativity.

Machinations has several other attractions, including a fearsome moving red dragon in a glass tower, a bookshop and a café and riverside terrace where visitors can enjoy excellent home cooking. A great family favourite is Rabbit Village, still being developed on the mini-hills in front of the café; it is built largely in traditional style, with stone and slate, and the rabbits themselves are loved by one and all. Easter 2009 saw the opening of a play barn in the old manufacturing space at the back of the premises. Painting tables and a basket of toys are an additional attraction for children, and the centre can arrange parties for all occasions, with any of the resident facilities and extras such as model-making workshops. The Centre, which is run by Eric and Alison's daughter Sarah, is open seven days a week, from 9.30 to 5 in summer and from 10 to 4.30 in winter.

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