Hobbiton

Hobbiton

The sun shone over the rolling hills of The Shire as we drove through Middle Earth  towards Matamata.

Tours around the, now world famous, farm run every fifteen minutes and hordes of tourists were as eager as us to wonder round the movie set.

Hobbiton

Catching the tour bus from The Shire’s Rest to the Alexander’s farm we wound round the bumpy lanes with some of the 13,000 sheep scattering the lush green hills as we caught our fist glimpses of Hobbiton.

Walking through the rickety gate onto the set was magical with the brightly coloured Hobbit Holes surrounded with beautiful flowers looked after by the five onsite gardeners.

As we meandered around Bag End I was struck by the detail of everything with Hobbit's laundry still hanging on the washing lines swaying in the warm breeze as it did in the film when Bilbo ran off on his quest. 

First time in my life I've felt tall...

The likens that gave an ancient feel to the gates and fences was actually painted on with a yoghurt solution but even close up you couldn’t tell they were fake.

I was pleasantly surprised at how the tour was managed so as not to feel like a big tourist sight (which of course it is) giving us plenty of time to take photos and soak up the wonderful scene.

My seven year old niece was enchanted and made sure she was at the front of the group the whole tour. (Unfortunately she’ll have to wait a few years before she can see the movie though.)  The three year old charmed the group by asking if she would see Pepper Pig too, I’m not sure what Tolkien would have thought of that…

Over looking The Green Dragon Inn from the lake

Past the party tree and over the bridge to The Green Dragon and it was time for a drink. Goblets of beer, cider or non-alcoholic ginger beer were served free from the bar. Welcoming the shade we settled down in one of the comfy seats in the oldy-worldy pub, like the ones you find in the English countryside with the log fires roaring in the winter and beer gardens overflowing in the summer.

Watching the film a couple of days later was brilliant; seeing the likes of Sir Ian McKellen and Martin Freeman walking down the same paths as we had! Even after the story continued and left The Shire I was memorised by the wonderful landscapes featured in The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey, some of which I’ve been privileged to visit during my travels round New Zealand. Now I can’t wait for part two….