Hobbiton !!!!!!!

The tour of the Hobbiton movie set was really great and this will be a largely visual post. First, some background. The first Hobbiton set for LotR was made of non-permanent materials and the grounds were largely retuned to their original state after shooting was finished.  But fans came anyway. So when The Hobbit was planned, Jackson approached the Alexander family about building a more permanent site that could be managed as a tourist destination. The Alexander’s, whose working sheep farm of over 13,000 sheep is at the end of Buckland Road long before Jackson went location seeking for LotR, agreed to the permanent Hobbiton and the re-established venue is built of permanent materials.

What is clear is the loving attention to detail, from mailboxes to birdhouses, to amazing gardens. Tour guides point out memorable scene locations, pass on little tidbits, and graciously take photos for/of you as we walk around. However, because al the internal Hobbit hole scenes were shot on set, none of the homes have interior spaces to explore. But there are plenty of other bits to see.

Down from the Door Where it Began ...

Bag End is situated toward the end of the tour, but since it’s where the story begins ...

Some of the other doors (of the 44 total Hobbit Holes):

Signposts and Notice Boards

One of the touches that bring Hobbiton to life are these items:

And you could make a study of the mailboxes:

 Details like laundry, curtains, occupations, and thatching:

And the gardens!!!

And this is my favorite - it will probably get printed off, framed, and find a home in my office:

It{s midnight, so I’ll post the end of the Hobbiton journey tomorrow.