You will no doubt by now be familiar with this fellow.

(courtesy LOTR/ New LIne Cinema)

Bilbo Baggins lived at Bag End in Hobbiton.  And I am happy to be able to report that the story he wrote about his life ‘There and Back Again’ should become a movie called ‘The Hobbit’.  The sad part about this is that Peter Jackson, due to a falling out with New Line Cinema, will not be the main director and producer of this film, but we are assured he will be involved all the way through, which no doubt will be a relief to Bilbo.   But I digress.

Ann and I were fortunate enough to visit Hobbiton (it still exists, and apparently will be used once more as a venue for The Hobbit movie).  Like an ancient archaeological site, we found it rather spare and bare, with no one at home to enjoy second breakfast.  And we did find nearby a reasonable facsimile of Shire’s Rest where they did serve second breakfast and also Hobbit ale, called  SobeRing Thought, Lord of the Beers.

Peter Jackson decided to “brew a beer
specifically for actors to drink while shooting bar scenes in the
movie. He didn’t want them to have to drink ginger-ale, or tea, or root
beer. He wanted them to feel like they were drinking real beer (though
it doesn’t taste quite like real beer). So he approached a brewery and asked them to produce a 1% beer for the cast” (my thanks to Glenn Murphy of Office Glen blog for this info).  I am unsure whether Bilbo would approve, it being a non-alcoholic ale, but there you have it. 

In order to find this place you need a reliable road map, and Ian Brodie has produced one. It is called The Lord of the Rings. Location Guidebook Extended Edition (Harper) and it has many stunning pictures of where the films were shot in Middle Earth.

Near the town of Matamata (so good they named it twice), we find Hobbiton located on the Alexander Sheep farm in the middle of the northern island.

Yes Hobbiton is a holey place, to say the least. Here for example is a picture of the approach into the village.

As you can see only sheep are in residence, with one exception on this sunny day.  Note the party animal still hanging around on the Party Tree (a massive pine).

A normal person has difficulties getting into a Hobbit hole. Remember how Gandalf kept bumping his head in Bilbo’s residence.  It helps to have yourself “shrunk”.

My poor wife has been carrying me for years.  But as you can see from the following shot, I managed to squeeze into Bag End, barely…..

The scenery in Hobbiton is still spectacular, especially if you are fond of idyllic scenes involving sheep safely grazing, rolling hills, ponds, and majestic trees.  It reminds one ever so much of the dales in Yorkshire.  Here are a few shots to prove it.

In our next two episodes we must explore two issues: 1) sheer nonsense, or how to fleece a sheep (a major occupation in Hobbiton and NZ); and 2) Second Breakfast at Walnut Cottage.  Did I mention Elevensies??