Return of the Ring and Barrow-Downs Mega-moot - Celebrating Tolkien in 2012

[Aganzir]

I demand a Tolkien themed costume party. Some night or other.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Originally Posted by Aganzir

I demand a Tolkien themed costume party. Some night or other.

Ooh! Good point! Maybe the first Sunday as there will be little else goin on. Or maybe after the Robin Hood festival as I imagine there will be costume buying opportunities there!

Also, do we have a definitive answer on who will be attending on what weeks/days? That'll help with the planning.

[Kath]

Yes an extra column with the names of the people there next to the day would be great! I am intending to be there the full two weeks. The things on that list look fab though we will need to look out half price/group offers for Alton Towers or we'll all be broke after that day. We will also need to work out number of people in relation to number of spaces in the cars ...

EDIT: In the spirit of helpful information I will have three spaces realistically, four spaces if you're fairly small and willing to squish! (I'm looking at Agan and Greenie here!)

[Lalwendë]

I think you would be fairly spoilt for choice with castles and historic houses all around the region so here's a few I recommend:

Bolsover Castle. The Castle might not be medieval but is pure fairytale. This one was remodelled to be a Cavalier's pleasure palace, there's the outer castle which is mostly wrecked apart from the huge riding school (Vienna is not the only place to have had one) and the Little Castle which isn't little, and is amazing. It's a pleasure house, panelled with all kinds of elaborate artwork and a few smutty Cavalier paintings too It also has a breathtaking view and lovely grounds, nice for picnics and running around.

Conisbrough Castle. This time, an actual medieval castle! Therefore, it's quite small, but is also a lot of fun to visit, and uniquely, it has a roof and floors so you won't just be looking up at the shell of a keep. You can go inside and explore and take photos sitting in the Lord's chair/garderobe etc (it's almost traditional to look for the garderobe in British castles and take a photo of someone sitting on it....). They have their annual Pageant of Knights on 18/19 August, run by Escafeld, a local re-enactment group (who take things very seriously!).

Chatsworth. Very famous, very expensive and very lovely. This is Mr Darcy's house in both the film and the novel. It's easy to spend the whole day looking around the house and grounds, and it's also possible just to pay to park for the day and wander across the estate rather than go in the house.

Haddon Hall. This one has been in loads of film and TV things from The Princess Bride to Jane Eyre. I love this place as it's about as close to a fairytale medieval manor house as it's possible to get.

A few other things......To the east, Lincoln isn't far and I'd recommend the Cathedral, which is a massive Gothic/Romanesque edifice and has cloisters which I think were used in Harry Potter. There is also the castle on the other part of the hilltop, and they have the Magna Carta. Walk up or down Steep Hill to enjoy the ancient buildings and lovely bookshops.

Newark is an under-rated gem, with a huge old market square with no modern buildings at all, and nearby is Southwell which is also ancient. Of course, there is the Sherwood Forest park, and attractions in Nottingham. There's also Cresswell Crags which have neolithic cave art - I've not been in many years though and now they have a new visitor centre so it's probably very different to how it was when I last went! And Newstead Abbey, Lord Byron's home. And various DH Lawrence visitor centres.

[Guinevere]

Originally Posted by Hookbill the Goomba

Also, do we have a definitive answer on who will be attending on what weeks/days? That'll help with the planning.

All this vagueness must be very awkward for you. I do hope you got your money !

As for me, I will arrive Tuesday 7.Aug., (around five o'clock, at Retford train station) and stay until the beginning of RotR.

I like your suggestions, except the theme park (not my cup of tea, and probably expensive and crowded)

All of Lalwende's suggestions sound great! I love castles and old town centres!!

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Guinevere

All this vagueness must be very awkward for you. I do hope you got your money !

As for me, I will arrive Tuesday 7.Aug., (around five o'clock, at Retford train station) and stay until the beginning of RotR.

I like your suggestions, except the theme park (not my cup of tea, and probably expensive and crowded)

All of Lalwende's suggestions sound great! I love castles and old town centres!!

It's a fantastic area for history. It's known as the Dukeries because so many landed gentry had vast tracts of land in the East Midlands, and they tended to build a lot of castles and big houses (in the North West, the wealthy went in for buying Art rather than mansions - hence why the best galleries and museums are in Liverpool/Manchester). The towns tend to be old established ones so you also get lots of old buildings, where they have survived the ravages of the 20th century (Coventry was very nice, once, but it's a little bit grim now). Also places like Newark and Lincoln ended up 'out of the way' to some extent after the industrial revolution so they also managed to survive.

The nicest towns in the wider area are Lincoln, Newark, Southwell (where the Bramley apple comes from), York, Bakewell, Buxton. Nottingham is a little bit disappointing sadly. There are also plenty of things to see for fans of battlegrounds and literary sites.

[Aganzir]

I'm arriving at East Midlands Airport on Monday the 6th at 10.30 AM, and leaving on Monday the 20th around noon. I still don't know if I'm going to ROTR though - I should just sit down, count the pennies and make up my mind soon.

I like all the suggestions so far (except I'm not too excited about overpriced theme parks either because I'm a boring miser). Basically I'll be happy doing almost anything.

[Kath]

More than one activity can of course occur on most days too. Just so long as we have a few drivers/cars.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

If we get a group deal for Alton Towers it's £25 each, ish. But from what I recall of old school trips there it's worth it. We'll see, though, it's not compulsory.



Anyone else have dates confirmed? I'll update this as we go.

Originally Posted by Kath

More than one activity can of course occur on most days too. Just so long as we have a few drivers/cars.

Indeed! We want to do plenty of stuff, of course!

[Estelyn Telcontar]

I'll be arriving Monday, the 6th and going to RotR on Thursday, the 16th. I'm not particularly interested in the theme park, but will happily join in sightseeing the surrounding area, cities, and literary/historical sites.