Have you ever been on holiday somewhere and thought to yourself, ‘I could live here’? Well, that happened to me on our next trip after Rotorua.

Green hills, big oak trees, a tranquil lake area, cute houses, a big village green and what is possibly the most picturesque local pub I’ve ever seen. Yep, I wanted to live in Hobbiton.

We love the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, so for us to be able to visit the movie set was a real treat. The first time it was built, back in 1999, it was only temporary and was dismantled after filming had finished, as per the agreement with the film studio and the Alexander family, who own the farm. But when it was rebuilt for The Hobbit, they decided to make it a permanent fixture and market it as a tourist attraction. Makes sense!

Strolling along the paths and passing the hobbit houses, with their blooming gardens, built into the hills, it felt quite magical – just as it had appeared in the films.

The tour lasted around 2 hours and although there wasn’t a replica of the inside of Bag End (Bilbo Baggins’ house), the local pub, the Green Dragon Inn, has been built so we were able to enjoy a mug of ale by the big roaring fire, just as Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin did before their unexpected journey.

We could have stayed there all day, especially as the sun was shining, making the lake sparkle and the flowers seem brighter. But, we had to move on to the next adventure.

I know that fantasy novels and films aren’t everyone’s mug of ale, but J.R.R. Tolkien, and Peter Jackson, really did create something magical 🙂