Visiting The Shire (pic heavy)

I was recently relaxing  in NZ (or "over the Ditch" as we antipodeans say - in both directions actually) and amongst my wanderings took the opportunity to visit the Hobbiton movie set on the North Island.

Aided by a sunny day, spring blooms and a myriad of other details (including woodfire smoke from chimneys), it looked exactly like the movies.

I'm going to let the flood of pictures speak for themselves (yes there are a lot of them!), and show you why the Shire is "a grand place, where gardeners are held in high esteem".

 One of the best tours I have done anywhere - Highly recommended!