Hobbiton Tour

Short version: OMG great.

Long version:

Once upon a time a location scout was flying around in a helicopter and saw a really great tree. 

There was a good little pond…

so they started to imagine how it would look as Hobbiton, the Shire. 

Encouraged by Tolkeinsian omens such as preternaturally wise birds, and a contract with the local sheep farmer,

they started building hobbit holes. It was just temporary at first, enough to get the LOTR movies out the door, but then…

people started to show up. Hobbits, after all. People love hobbits. 

A lot of people, willing to pay. Mostly hobbit-like in their demeanor, although there were some orc’ish moments with umbrellas and selfie sticks. 

So they hired tour guides, leased a fleet of buses, built everything to a more permanent standard, and created an empire dressed up as a village. 

Now there’s a complete infrastructure if you know where and how to look. 

They added the Green Dragon pub (where yes you can rent it out and get married), so you leave even happier than you arrived. In addition to the good beer, you could buy a scone. Like this guy from our group, who I caught here rubbing the crumbs off his hands in a kind My Precioussss moment. He had gotten every LOTR trivia question right without breaking a sweat. It was very validating when he took his jacket off to reveal his Star Wars shirt. A poly-geek. 

Please come visit so we have an excuse to go back.