Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice said on happening upon Wonderland – it’s the same feeling that Curiovan curators Conrad and Harriet hope to evoke in visitors to this Explorium of Natural Wonderment.

Skeleton fairies battle an army of wasps, reanimated roadkill dance on an old gramophone, tin birds tweet at the crank of a handle and clockwork ladybirds skitter across glass – enter the curiously captivating world of the Curiovan.

While the 1922 wooden caravan with quaint leaded windows looks like a cosy retreat where one might enjoy a leisurely cup of tea next to a piping hot stove, it is actually a miniature museum packed with fantastical exhibits to delight, challenge and entertain.

There are rocks that hide glittering crystal interiors, pickled beasts in bell jars, spiders captured in resin, ancient fossils, automatons that spring to life, fictitious archaeology that twists history, six-winged butterflies and a host of other curious attractions.

Visitors to the Curiovan are tempted to open countless sets of drawers that hide further treasures and to peer through peepholes into magical dioramas and through magnifying glasses at incredible miniatures.