The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings take place within one universe, yet their stories take place at separate points in time. The Hobbit predates events seen in Lord of the Rings by several years.
Visit Middle-earth through a private tour of Hobbiton Movie Set and experience its wonders first hand on an overnight stay in one of its Hobbit Hole accommodations, along with access to The Millhouse and Green Dragon Inn for an immersive tour experience that brings the film trilogy alive!
Hobbiton
Hobbiton is the fantasy reality of what life would be like without electronic devices and smartphones. Exploring this one-man’s creation is truly unforgettable; touring it provides incredible insight into its construction.
At Hobbiton, year-round tours are available with four options being the Standard Tour being the most popular. It includes a two-hour journey around the set and drinks at Green Dragon Inn; there is something available for everyone from cider or beer to non-alcoholic options.
As tours often sell out and the bus ride can last around an hour from the farm, prebooking tickets is highly advised as tours do fill up quickly and if possible try and visit early or late afternoon when there will be less people on the road and it can feel even more magical!
Bag End and Party Tree, featuring 44 Hobbit Holes for you to explore, are the main draws. Most are human sized while others were built smaller-than-normal for filming purposes and to make hobbit actors appear smaller on camera.
The Shire
Once inside the Shire set, visitors are instantly immersed in a world inhabited by Hobbits: halflings who live reminiscent of themselves in homes constructed to look similar. Their front yards feature pots of honey from beekeepers and fish drying at fisherman houses – there is even evidence of gardening taking place!
At its inception, the Shire was part of Arnor and served as King Argeleb II’s hunting grounds. Hobbits from Bree were given official permission by King Argeleb II at Norbury (Fornost) to settle this region of land.
The Shire was officially administered by Michel Delving from Michel Delving on the White Downs, who held authority over all four Farthings (Northfarthing, Southfarthing, Eastfarthing and Westfarthing). In practice however, this title was more ceremonial and hereditary – passing through Oldbuck clan to Took family head in Tuckborough; meaning it likely operated more as a trading community than a self-sufficient utopia depicted by Peter Jackson’s films; perhaps well-to-do aristocrats might even import vegetables from distant lands or technologically advanced items like firearms from more advanced cultures as imports from distant lands!
The Green Dragon Inn
At night, the Green Dragon Inn bustles with voices, laughter, and drunken revelry. Rivermen, dockway bully-boys, bargefolk and their friends gather here to drink cheaply while having fun carousing with one another and carve up any potential disputes between themselves and fellow patrons. Weapons are welcome here, with no one to stop light violence or discourage enthusiastic drinking from occurring here.
Ricard Damaris is an outgoing innkeeper in Greyhawk’s River Quarter who never misses an opportunity to share stories and provide information. Many customers at his inn include locals, shabby merchants, or those searching for adventure – and Ricard’s tales never fail to amuse! His patronage extends far beyond local customers or merchants seeking information or adventure – always glad to listen when someone tells one.
While The Rings of Power takes place a thousand years before Frodo and his Fellowship embarked upon their journey in the movies, there are still connections between both universes. Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh), an adaptation of a Hobbit character seen in Harfoot version; Durin IV the Dwarf; and Halbrand are majorly connected with those from Fellowship; indeed they may even be considered ancestors of Aragorn as seen from various characters such as Maxim Baldry’s Isildur and Lloyd Owen’s Elendil are seen by some scholars to be considered to have played their respective characters roles well enough that we see today!
The Millhouse
As well as its historic building and farm, this property features a black-and-white photo of Amerigo as a reminder of homesteading – an act that allowed individuals to acquire public land under specific laws.
Though based on Tolkien’s books, The Rings of Power does not feature many of the familiar characters from movies; rather it takes place before Frodo embarked upon his epic journey in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit films.
Still, The Rings of Power features some familiar characters such as Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo in the show; Hugo Weaving in movies). Furthermore, viewers get an opportunity to witness Tolkien’s creations before their transformation into lofty immortal progenitors he coined them – those elves speak in Khuzdul – their high-born language created specifically by him! HBO Max currently broadcasts The Rings of Power with Amazon Prime streaming available as well.
The Farm
Peter Jackson’s scouts found themselves with quite the surprise when searching for an ideal location to film The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films: the farm they selected in Waikato region was already owned and managed by Alexander family who ran it as an active sheep and cattle farm; when Peter Jackson visited while watching rugby match at their farm they simply responded “Go back to watching your rugby” before closing the gates behind them!
Hobbiton Movie Set has quickly become a tourist hot spot. Offering daily tours that give visitors an insight into the filming locations from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, visitors are given access to tour their set while staying at accommodations selected by Brian Massey (creative director for both trilogies).
This prequel to The Lord of the Rings explores Middle-earth prior to Frodo forming his Fellowship and features several familiar characters like Galadriel (portrayed by Cate Blanchett). Her unique and distinctive vocal performance stands out as one of its hallmarks, while this season’s finale strongly indicates she may actually represent an earlier form of Gandalf.
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