THERE are plenty of quirky places in the US, but did you know that one state has its very own miniature England?
It even has its own piece of the capital there as the original London Bridge was bought and reconstructed over the Bridgewater Channel Canal in Arizona.
You’ll find all this in Lake Havasu City three hours outside of Phoenix, where there’s a miniature England, and it’s literally called ‘The English Village’.
The resort was built when the actual London Bridge was brought over from the UK.
Back in the 1830s, London Bridge was constructed in the UK. But years later in the 1960s, it was deemed unsuitable for modern traffic.
In 1968, London Bridge was bought by American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch.
He had the exterior granite blocks from the original bridge cut and transported to the United States to construct a new bridge in Lake Havasu.
Robert was actually the founder or Lake Havasu City, and its English village tourist attraction was built in 1971 – to coincide with the instillation of London Bridge.
It wasn’t just the original bridge that made it across the water. Vintage lamps on the bridge are made from the melted-down cannons of Napoleon Bonaparte’s army.
The bridge has been used for movies too like Bridge Across Time also known as Terror at London Bridge, and Day of the Wolves.
The English Village was built like a Hollywood set with pretty shop fronts, all made to look quintessentially English.
The village even has a vintage gate from an English castle, and there are red telephone boxes scattered about.
In the middle is a fountain which is surrounded by four lion statues which strikes a resemblance to the one you’ll find in Trafalgar Square.
It was anchored by Hog in Armour Pub and City of London Arms Restaurant and a cinema was later added – but sadly these have since changed.
One restaurant there today is The Chair which looks out at London Bridge and the village’s fountain which serves the British classic, fish and chips.
There’s also a pizza restaurant called Papa Leone’s Pizza as well as an ice cream parlour and fish and chip shop under London Bridge.
With average summer highs of 33C in Arizona, there’s plenty of outdoor seating and lots of boat tours along the canal.
On Tripadvisor, one visitor wrote: “It’s iconic, it’s London Bridge. A great job has been done in integrating a piece of England into the desert 5000 miles away, in it is almost seamless.”
Another commented “Authentic fish and chips offered at a nearby restaurant and a bit of English kitsch”.
At Christmas, the area around London Bridge, including The English Village, is decorated for Christmas.
The area is lit up for the yearly Festival of Lights with one of the main events being the Holiday Boat Parade of Lights which takes place on the water under the bridge.
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