Man recreates home town from over 3,000 miles away

Gerry Lodge has recreated Guildford's High Street in his spare room

A man who has lived away from the UK for 38 years has recreated the Surrey town he still calls home in miniature from more than 3,000 miles away in the United States.

Gerry Lodge, 65, made a model of Guildford in his back room, buying most of it from model shops around the UK and getting the parts shipped to him in Billerica, around 20 miles north of Boston, Massachusetts.

The model, in Mr Lodge's spare room, shows Guildford's High Street, the former Dennis factory which built buses and fire engines in the town, and the walking spot Newlands Corner.

For Christmas he has decorated the miniature High Street with strings of lights and Santa's sleigh, made by a friend, flying past the moon.

The model includes Newlands Corner, outside of the town

Mr Lodge, who grew up in Ash Grove, a cul-de-sac alongside the A3, said: "As it will never leave my back room I gave myself licence to include and do whatever made me happy.

"That was the key. This was to bring joy and make me feel close to Guildford.

"I've lived in America for 38 years but still look at Guildford as my home."

The model includes many sights of Guildford

He says he still loves standing at the bottom of Guildford's historic High Street and looking up towards the top when he visits.

"That never gets old," he added.

He began building the model after turning his spare bedroom into an office during the coronavirus pandemic.

Guildford Cathedral also features behind the Dennis factory which was in the town

Though he had promised himself he would build a model railway when he retired, Mr Lodge said: "I decided not to wait.

"It was always going to be set in Britain which meant there was very little I could source out here.

"Most were purchased from various model railway shops around the UK."

The High Street has been decorated for Christmas

Mr Lodge said he had spent about £2,000 on the project, and probably still had a similar amount to spend on engines and controllers.

He said he first got the idea to build a model railway after visiting an antique shop in Plymouth, just south of Boston, when he saw an old Hornby mail coach.

"My father worked at British Aircraft Corporation in Weybridge, Wisley and then on Concorde in Farnborough," he added.

"So I will be building kits of various planes he was associated with and they can take turns flying across the town."