Visiting England’s Hobbit country

A recent photograph of the landscape depicted in the movie poster. (Thrifty Traveller pic)

Fans of Middle Earth know that the movies of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit were filmed in New Zealand.

But the green and pleasant shire appearing in this 2012 poster for the film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is not a view from the New Zealand Hobbiton movie set, it is actually a real-life location in Northumberland, England.

The poster has been enhanced with some computer-generated imagery but behind Gandalf you can clearly make out the ruined outline of Edlingham Castle and a railway viaduct of the old Wooler to Alnwick line, disused for more than half a century.

Edlingham castle itself is well worth a closer inspection. (Thrifty Traveller pic)

As a comparison, a photo was taken recently from a layby on the B6341 just below a rocky hilltop called Corby Crags near Alnwick. One can imagine Bilbo Baggins and friends feeling at home in this tranquil countryside.

Nearby Alnwick Castle was the filming location for a number of the Hogwarts scenes in the Harry Potter films, so this scenic corner of Northumberland has a lot to offer lovers of the modern fantasy genre.

This stone manor house dates from around 1250 and was extended and fortified over the centuries to defend against raids by Border Reivers. Edlingham castle was abandoned in the mid-1600s and much of the stone was removed for use in other buildings.

What is left of the interior of Edlingham Castle. (Thrifty Traveller pic)

Most of what remains of the castle are the living quarters (known as the Solar House) and the foundations of the curtain walls, the kitchen block, the gatehouse and barbican.

One of Edligham Castle’s early owners is buried in this medieval church. (Thrifty Traveller pic)

Next door to the castle is the medieval church of St John the Baptist where one of the castle’s early owners, William de Felton, lies buried.

The church tower was also built in the style of a fort to defend the occupants from the constant Anglo-Scottish skirmishes that plagued these borderlands from the 1300s to the 1600s.

Much of the stone used to build this railway viaduct was probably taken from the castle. (Thrifty Traveller pic)

The railway viaduct behind the castle was built in the 1880s and it is likely that much of the stone used in its construction was “borrowed” from the castle.

The castle is open during daylight hours and admission is free. For more details go to English Heritage’s website.

This article first appeared on Thrifty Traveller

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