There And Back Again - A Visit to Hobbiton

Like Tolkien's diminutive hero Bilbo Baggins, Mike Bodnar goes on an adventure - to Middle Earth...

Hobbiton, Middle Earth, New Zealand

It's a well-known fact that New Zealand provided the backdrops for Peter Jackson's epic Tolkien movie trilogy The Lord of the Rings, and later The Hobbit. Aotearoa take a bow.

Nothing is more testament to this starring role than the influx of tourists New Zealand experienced once the first films were released; people from all over our own earth were desperate to see Middle Earth for themselves. Wikipedia notes in reference to the LOTR movies: The annual tourist influx to New Zealand grew 40%, from 1.7 million in 2000 to 2.4 million in 2006, which some have attributed to be to a large degree due [sic] to The Lord of the Rings phenomenon.

This tree above Bag End is completely fake

It's also a fact, however, that most film sets are ephemeral, and usually built of materials such as polystyrene, timber, fibreglass, plaster, and so on, so it should come as no surprise to tourists that even if they do make the pilgrimage to Aotearoa in search of Middle Earth, they are going to be out of luck if they want to actually see Rivendell, Minas Tirith or Helm's Deep. The sets were torn down after filming, often because they were on public land, and their destruction and disposal was part of the filming arrangements.

Rivendell is a good example. The verdant location for the Elven dwelling was in Kaitoke Regional Park, north of the capital, Wellington. The park is operated by Greater Wellington Regional Council, and although Jackson and his crew had access to the area for many months, and erected various walls, 'stone' steps, plazas, rooms, even a fake bubbling stream, there is now nothing to see of any of it. (That said, it's such a pretty part of Wellington it deserves a visit in its own right, and local LOTR tours will show you exactly where certain scenes were shot).

The site for Hobbiton, overlooking the water

But there is one location that does exist, and it's perhaps the most relevant and Mecca-like of all: Bilbo and Frodo's home settlement of Hobbiton, in The Shire.

Jackson chose the North Island location for its relative ease of access, its similarity in part to
English countryside, and the fact that it had a hill overlooking a body of water, as described by Tolkien in his books. It was - and is - on a working farm, so as with all the other sets, Hobbiton's Hobbit homes, gardens, bridges, even the Green Dragon pub, were all temporary structures.

The farm is owned by the Alexander family, and to their credit - and no doubt financial benefit - they reached a partnership agreement with Jackson's lot to recreate Hobbiton and to rebuild it in accordance with modern construction codes, so that visitors could enjoy it today. The result is something to strike joy into the heart of the coldest Orc in the land.

Where it all starts: the Shire's Rest Cafe

Needless to say it is hugely popular. On a recent trip to New Zealand we had booked a month or so in advance, critical in summer when most people visit, though it is open all year round except Christmas Day.

Two things impress: one is the attention to detail throughout Hobbiton, and the other is how well-run the operation is. Let's start and dispense with the operational stuff.

Of necessity, and because Hobbiton is on a working farm (a couple of hours' drive south of Auckland for reference), you can't just turn up and wander round unaccompanied. The attraction is extremely popular, so tours assemble and depart from The Shire's Rest Café, which is beside the road that passes the Alexander's farm. There's a Gondor-sized car park and a check-in reception. Plenty of seating indoors and outdoors, and the food and drink options are commendable. And loads of toilets!

The tour begins...

The tours are staggered so that you're not tripping over each other, but you can check the
details (and make bookings) on the Hobbiton Movie Set tours site. I encourage you to do so; but I'd rather use this blog to reminisce about the experience. In a word: wizard!

Each tour group of approximately 30 people is taken by bus through the farm to where the Hobbiton set is. A video along the way means that both Sir Peter and Mr Alexander welcome you to the experience, which is all very jolly, but of course you spend your time looking out of the bus windows in the hope of a glimpse of Middle Earth (which you do get).

Me with Peter Jackson on the set of Rivendell,
circa 2000. Polystyrene, timber, fake stone,
even fake lichen!

There are rules, as the guide explains. No wandering off, stick to the paths, keep together, and that's about it. Our guide, a Welsh lass called Louise, was very good at explaining some of the cinematic techniques used during filming, highlighting details of the set, testing our LOTR knowledge, and she always seemed ready to answer questions or discuss things. I bored her with my story of how I chatted with Peter Jackson at Rivendell when he was shooting scenes there. She was very polite.

But oh my, what a lovely place. Hobbiton has been perfectly recreated, with all the essence of the settlement captured in perfect and extreme detail. You walk along winding paths through gorgeous scenery, past numerous 'Hobbit holes', their front doors all painted a different colour, their front gardens personalised with flowers, stalls of honey or cheese, even Hobbit-sized waistcoats and breeches hanging on washing lines.

There are over 40 Hobbit holes

If, like me, you've been a fan of both The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings stories for years, then you'll be transported back to the books. There's no sign of Hobbits of course (although smoke curls teasingly from at least one chimney) but I have to say I actually felt somewhat emotional, almost overwhelmed by what I was seeing.

As an 11-year-old, immersed in the Lord of the Rings books for the first time, I yearned to live in Middle Earth. My real earth wasn't all that good - I'd just started senior school and hated it. I escaped into the Rings books as often as possible and went journeying with Frodo and Sam; they took me away from the harsh realities of daily school life. Give me a Nazgûl over our demonic headmaster any day.

So for me, visiting this Kiwi Hobbiton was like arriving at a place I'd known about for decades, a place with which I was totally familiar, and yet one which by definition of its being fictional, didn't exist. And yet here it was. And it was perfect. Almost as though Hobbiton had really existed, and Tolkien had been there and written about it. Written about this place. I felt he would have been proud, had he been able to join our tour.

Nearly all the Hobbit homes are facades built into the hillsides, so most of the doors don't open and you can't duck in for a cup of tea, a puff of rough shag, or a pint of Rosie's cider, but that doesn't matter. I could empathise, because when we lived in New Zealand we built our own Hobbit hole façade, our own Bag End in fact, on a hillside at the back of our house. Unfortunately we sold the property before the

Our own 'Bag End' which became
a condition of purchase

grass could properly establish over it (see pic), but on the other hand the new owners - the husband worked for Weta Workshop and was involved in the special effects for Jackson's films - made it a condition of purchase that we left our Bag End in situ. We were happy to oblige (but I plan to make another one one day!).

The 'real' Bag End

Some in our tour group (myself included) wanted photographs of course, and here's the challenge: getting a shot of a Hobbit dwelling (and Bilbo's home 'Bag End' in particular) without other tour members in shot. The trick, I discovered, is to be the last in the group, so that everyone has moved on just far enough that you're left with a people-free photo opportunity. The downside of this is that you're likely to

miss out on what your guide at the front is saying, or that she'll turn the Eye of Sauron on you and burn you to ashes for dawdling. That's a risk I was willing to take. I'm still here.

As you can see from some of the images included here, my tactic worked, even to the point of getting Bag End without one of those large pesky men-folk in shot.

A detail that particularly impressed me about this reconstructed movie set was that in any gateway, or fence, or door or signpost, I did not see a single Philips screw or alloy nut and bolt. No stainless steel fittings, no MDF board. Everything was as it would have been in Middle Earth, and rightly so. Nothing looked new either; there was a quaint rustic charm and patina to everything, an appropriate lived-in look.

The bridge past the Mill leading to The Green Dragon

The tours, although well controlled, are not rushed. It takes about an hour to amble through the leafy byways, and to gaze in wonder at the to-scale Hobbit homes and gardens, and there's a bonus, my precious: the tour concludes at the quaint thatched Green Dragon pub with a free pint of cider, beer or soft drink. The Green Dragon, you'll be pleased to know, is human-sized, so there's no ducking down to get in or banging your head on the beamed ceilings.

The Green Dragon, complete with Hobbit

And because it was a nice day for our tour, most people took their drinks outside, which enabled me to get a shot of the interior without any people in it. Except for one child sitting at a table, and charmingly he actually was Hobbit-sized so fits into the scene perfectly.

A visit to Hobbiton is (obviously) something I'd recommend. Of course it helps if you've read the books or seen the films, but the place is so pretty, so perfect anyway, that even if you don't know a Hobbit from an Orc or a warg from a cave troll, you'd almost certainly still enjoy it.

If you do go, and your tour guide sears you to ashes for loitering to take photos at the back of the group, you can blame me. But remember to tell them that you're there because I recommended it. As I said earlier, it's wizard.

A Prisoner of Fan Fiction

Writer Mike Bodnar has published his first novel, Unity, knowing that no matter how popular it becomes he will not make a penny from it...

I've recently finished writing my first novel. Thank you; a hat will be passed round shortly.

Image of Patrick McGoohan courtesy of Cultbox

However, to be clear, I had a springboard to leap from, and I can't lay claim to the original idea on which Unity is based. That, dear reader, is all down to one Patrick McGoohan (see pic), and if the name rings a bell it's because in the 1960s he was famous for playing agent John Drake in the British TV series Danger Man (Secret Agent in the United States), and, in 1967-68, as the unnamed eponymous lead in The Prisoner. It's this latter enigmatic series from which my novel takes its inspiration.

Why? Because The Prisoner has, for the past 55 years, confused, bewildered and beguiled audiences around the world, and still to this day people ask, what was it all about? What happened in the end? Did he ever really escape? And, just generally, WTF?

Prisoner fans re-enact the human chess game
from the episode 'Checkmate' during a convention.
(Image courtesy Welsh Holiday News)

There are multiple fan clubs and associations devoted to scrutinising The Prisoner's story arc(s) and quirks in minute detail. If you add up the memberships of those groups on Facebook alone you'll find almost 30,000 devotees. And there are multiple websites which attract membership from around the globe. There are even cosplay-style annual conventions. In short, The Prisoner very quickly acquired cult status, and shows little sign of slowing down.

As a result, there are many, many books that have been written about The Prisoner, some factual, others speculative, along with many novels and novellas. The - excuse the pun - captive audience laps them up, so I knew before starting out on my writing venture that there was a market out there hungry for more. I hope so; I'm banking on it.

Initial trial print run

Or rather, I'm not banking on it. Because I can't. I cannot - in fact am not allowed to - profit
from this work because I do not own the rights to the original work itself, the TV series. That is now held by television company ITV. And before you ask, yes I have tried to buy the rights, but have met with a blank refusal, along with a warning to 'seek independent legal advice.' But I will not be pushed, stamped, filed, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered, to quote The Prisoner himself, and am determined to see the drooling audience satiated. I am resigned to not making any money from it though.

So why bother? I hear you ask. Because, although not a rabid fan or cult follower, I have been intrigued by The Prisoner since first being enthralled by it as a 13-year-old, and have enjoyed watching the odd re-run over the years since. I have also now had over fifty years to ponder what McGoohan was trying to say with the series, and - thanks to the Prisonerverse - I've been able to view numerous documentaries, interviews and other random material, all of which have also tried to answer the same questions. There is no shortage of analysis, and I thank all those who have done all that research for me.

Portmeirion, the charming yet menacing 'village'
where The Prisoner was held captive
(Image: Mike Bodnar)

But that doesn't answer your question. For a long time I've had oblique thoughts about the obverse side of The Prisoner's story. If he'd resigned and was then captured and interrogated as to why, then what was it that made him resign? Why did he need to be caught and incarcerated? What threat was he? And who held him prisoner?

With those thoughts tumbling around in my head for a few years it was no surprise to me when they finally coalesced into a plausible storyline, told from the side of his captors. This - unlike so many of the other tie-in stories - doesn't aim to continue the story after The Prisoner TV series ends; mine is instead a contemporaneous narrative, paralleling what happens in The Prisoner from episode one to the final bewildering act. Although, if I were to base my story on all seventeen episodes it would be pushing 200,000 words and likely be a trilogy, and given that there's no financial reward to be had I was not about to embark on such an epic adventure. 

Be seeing you

Instead I have taken what many regard as the seven 'essential' episodes of the series and written a 1967-based spy thriller that sits alongside those stories and, hopefully, makes sense of them, or at least provides a viable explanation as to WTAF is going on. It is a more palatable 80,000 words, or just over 300 pages in paperback form. As stated in my foreword, the book aims purely to entertain, not to swell any coffers, and if there is inadvertent profit it will go to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the RNLI.

I self-published the book as, to be honest, I couldn't be arsed sending it to publishers or agents who these days don't bother reading anything and don't respond anyway. Also, as a tie-in novel they're unlikely to be interested. So the sale price of Unity will be to cover production/publishing costs.

I'm officially launching the book during the 2023 Prisoner convention (21-23 April). Called Portmeiricon, it's being held at 'The Village' itself in North Wales, and the organisers have very kindly given me an hour's slot in Hercules Hall at 7pm on the Saturday (22nd) for the launch. Copies of Unity will be available. I'll even sign one for you!

(However, would you like to be one of the first to read it? You can get Unity on Amazon right now!)

But where, then, do I get my reward? Well, I have thoroughly enjoyed writing Unity over the past two years, and that in itself is profit of sorts. If readers actually like it then that also is a bonus, as any favourable reviews will be. But there's more; while I openly admit to having used the basic storyline of The Prisoner as my muse, I have in the process created a raft of original characters within the zeitgeist of 1967 London and the British intelligence community.

The author pretending to work

I've grown to like these characters, and as I wrote the last few pages of the book it dawned on me that I could craft a sequel, only this time using my own dramatis personae, and a story not related to the TV series; in fact having no reference to The Prisoner at all. This makes the next book a stand-alone intellectual property of mine, and one which, fingers crossed, I can make as much money from as people will throw at me. Form an orderly queue.

All I can tell you at this stage is that it's set in Britain and the island of Ireland in 1970, and is called (working title) The Liscannor Intercept. Yes it's another spy thriller, and yes I have started writing it. But obviously, it's classified, and if I told you more I'd have to shoot you.

Update, at 25 October, 2025: 

The new cover on the second edition

Here I am almost three years on from when I first published this blog, and I have recently released the second edition of Unity. Content-wise there's not much that's changed; I dropped links and references to the book's website which, alas, no longer exists as it became prohibitively expensive to renew the site. I also dropped the crowdfunding link because, well, nobody was funding me, so that didn't work. Never mind.

Reviews for Unity on both Amazon and Goodreads have been fantastic (including, importantly, from Prisoner fans), and it gets a five star rating on both sites, so if nothing else that tells me not to mess with it too much!

The biggest change for the second edition is a new - and I think more dramatic - cover, and I present it here for your consideration. The book remains available in three formats: paperback, hardcover, (in the UK) and as a Kindle eBook. Sales haven't been great, and I'm still waiting for a film deal. I have, however, dropped the Kindle price to a very reasonable 99p (in UK money), so now is your chance to check out Unity. Thank you.

Following the Arrows

 Mike Bodnar adds another string to his bow and spends a day with some Surrey archers…

 

Katniss Everdeen on target in The Hunger Games.
Image: fencing.net

Archery is something most of us know about only from films and television. John Rambo,
Katniss Everdeen, William Tell or Robin Hood, they’ve all pulled a bowstring for our entertainment, and maybe to save the world while they were at it – or in the case of the elf Legolas, Middle Earth.

As a result we know only that arrows are deadly, are shot from a bow or crossbow, and either find their target accurately or rain terrifyingly down in their hundreds from the skies above. 

From these brief but exciting small- and big-screen encounters we are therefore aware of the basic principles of the bow and arrow, but there are aspects of filmic archery that are nearly always wrong, as I learned from spending a day with some members of Surrey’s Longbow Heritage archery club recently.

Gerry May (aka 'Lord Raven'). Image: Mike Bodnar

‘The one thing they always get wrong in films,’ says veteran archer Gerry May with a chuckle, ‘is that they [the characters] always walk around with a strung bow,’ which, he says, would never have happened. 

The bows, he explains, were only as good as their strength when bent, so real archers would always carry them unstrung.

‘They’d string their bows when they were ready to shoot, but not before,’ he explains. 'Whereas if you keep it strung it will stay bent, and then you lose power.’

And that’s another thing he tells me: arrows are always shot. ‘You fire a gun but shoot an arrow.’ I have a lot to learn, but I am building up my archery knowledge in perhaps the most pleasant way possible – by strolling through some gorgeous deep-Surrey woodland on a perfect late spring day with the sun shafting through the trees lighting up the bluebells, and occasionally spotlighting an animal target. 

A rubbery fox. Image: Mike Bodnar

Because what Gerry and I are doing – along with novice archer Steve James who’s joined us to get some tips – is following a laid-out trail of eighteen targets ranging from hares and foxes through to a lynx, a bear and even a dragon. There are about twenty club members taking part today in this ‘friendly’ as it’s called. 

It’s not so jolly for the targets however. Known as 3-D field archery targets, most of them are quite convincing (although I can’t vouch for the dragon) but are actually made of a durable rubbery compound.

Each target point is identified by a number staked in the ground, so in a way it’s rather like playing a round of golf except that you’re permanently in the rough. And, unlike golfing greens which are usually out in the open, these targets have been cunningly placed deep in the wood and, occasionally, even behind foliage. But even though they can be almost hidden, finding the next target point is quite easy since the trail is marked – appropriately – with arrows.

Not just for Merry Men; Jurga Artse shows her skills.
About one in three archers is female.
Image: Mike Bodnar

It’s not just a matter of hitting your target once you’ve found it though. Each animal has a rough bull’s-eye carved into it - called the 'kill' - so you get points according to where your arrows hit. Miss and you get nothing. (And in case you do miss there’s a ‘backstop’ behind each animal – a big black square of substance that is there to stop your arrows disappearing into the forest).

As we approach the first target point Gerry tells me how the scoring works. ‘You get to shoot three arrows per target. In the ground, at different distances from the target there are pegs: a red one, white one and a blue one. The red is always furthest from the target, the white a bit closer, and the blue closest of all.’

Which means that if all your arrows hit home while your foot is against the red peg you can score maximum points, but the scoring decreases the closer you get to the target. If your first arrow misses then you must move to the white peg, and again if you don’t find the target you move to the blue peg. 

Gerry gives novice Steve some tips.
Image: Mike Bodnar

There’s also the matter of health and safety. Obviously a bow can be a deadly weapon, so it’s vital not to load your arrow before you’re ready to shoot.

‘It’s called “nocking,”’ Gerry says. ‘When you put the notch onto the bow string your arrow is nocked.’ He reminds Steve not to do this before placing his foot against the peg. 

The fact that an arrow could seriously injure or even kill someone is the reason I’m not having a go myself; the club rules simply don’t allow it. Even a novice archer has to first be signed-off by a club senior that they can shoot straight before being allowed to compete, hence I am purely an observer for the day. 

As we meander through the wood – Gerry and his Merry Men – I realise that there’s quite a science to designing a course like this. For one thing- as later confirmed by club secretary Carol Pearce who laid out the course – when shooting at a target you shouldn’t be facing any other target point or the trail, so that should an arrow somehow ‘go bush’ there is little chance of it finding a human target. 

Also, the 70-member club uses the wood by private arrangement with a local landowner; it‘s not open to the public or ramblers, so the chances of strangers wandering into the kill zone are minimal. 

The Longbow Heritage club house. Image: Mike Bodnar

As mentioned, not all the targets are in full view, and more than once Gerry and Steve have to shoot over or even through small trees or foliage. Some of the targets live: those where the arrows don’t find their mark. Gerry admits he’s not having a particularly good day, although when the arrows do find their target there’s a very satisfying and solid ‘thunk’ as they hit.

Disgruntled with his score (Steve was happier with his), Gerry leads us back to the ‘clubhouse’ – a small converted farm shed on the edge of a paddock – for lunch. Club members sit around in the sunshine and talk archery (naturally), compare bows, discuss arrows, and so on. It’s all very genial. Secretary Carol busies herself in the tiny kitchen making bacon and sausage butties. Nearby there is a practice target in the field which is put to good use by those not venturing into the woods.

A quiver of arrows
Image: Mike Bodnar

I ask Gerry what it would cost to kit-up as a beginner. ‘Oh you could probably get away with between £250 and £300,’ he says, and shows me a second-hand bow he is trialling for his son John. It still has the price sticker on it: just £25. But of course you could pay a lot more. 

'There are a number of different bows,' Gerry says, 'from the traditional longbow that's shot instinctively with wooden arrows - and no sights - up to a compound that has sights and are a lot faster as they're shot with the aid of pulley wheels and use carbon or metal arrows.' These top-of-the-range feats of engineering can cost £2,000 just for the bow. As well of course you also need arrows, a quiver, an arm guard or brace, and on top of that there are club fees (but Longbow Heritage charges a very reasonable £15 per year) plus competition fees should you wish to compete. I am tempted, but only at the lower end.

So was novice Steve James, but initially only because he saw a second-hand bow advertised for sale. He tells me however that after buying it he discovered it wasn’t any good. ‘I took it to Carol and showed her and she said it was rubbish, get rid of it!’ With her expert advice he found a more suitable weapon. 

As Steve heads back into the wood for some more target shooting Gerry gives me one last instruction. ‘Go and find an apple and stand it on your head,’ he said. ‘I need some target practice…’

Mike Bodnar was a guest of Longbow Heritage. Check out their club page on Facebook