Towards BagEnd

This view was taken from under the " party tree" towards BadEnd - the home of Bilbo Baggins.

Taken on the set of "The Lord of The Rings" Hobbiton, near Matamata, North Island, New Zealand.

What surprised me was the number of imaginary "hobbit holes" that still exist, and the natural beauty of the location - it looked like hobbits would have chosen to live here.

Taken in spring, 2003. This is a shot looking at BagEnd - the "hobbit hole" that crowns this hill. It is very grand by hobbit standards and goes a long way to explain why it was such a desireable abode. You cannot see the Oak Tree that is supposed to be atop BagEnd because they bought one from a local farmer, cut it up into little bits, transported it to the set and bolted it back together for the 2 or so weeks filming at this location, then sold it as firewood. A lot of work for something that takes up less than 2 seconds of the film.