2000: Largest collection of garden gnomes
Ann Atkin (United Kingdom) is surrounded by her army of 2,010 dwarves and gnomes. This dwarf enthusiast has broken her own record, and at the last census, her collection numbered 2,042 dwarves. All her garden gnomes live in a "gnome reserve" in a 1.6-hectare woodland that is visited by 25,000 people every year.
If you are planning a visit to the Gnome Reserve in North Devon, Great Britain, you should be prepared to receive a pointed hat before entering, "so as not to disturb the gnomes that live there".
Her favourite is a gnome named "Siegfried", which Ann, a former art student, carved herself in 1978 when she started her collection.
Gnomes are popular all over the world - Ron Hale from Canada built the largest garden gnome for a theme park in 1998, which unfortunately no longer exists. The garden gnome is 7.91 m tall and currently greets motorists on the grounds of a petrol station.
The current record for the largest gathering of people dressed as dwarves is 478, set by BBC Hereford & Worcester (UK) in the foyer of the Malvern Theatre in Worcester, UK, on November 18, 2011.
