Whenever the lush hills of the Shire come into view in The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit movies, it's almost impossible not to be filled with a desire to be whisked away to the peaceful land of Hobbits. Turns out you can go - and as these photos show, it looks as good in the flesh as it does on film.
Redditor Ascarea visited the Hobbiton set in December and took some exceptional photos of the set, now in permanent residence as a tourist attraction near Matamata after being completely rebuilt to shoot the Hobbit trilogy - and they show just how much incredible detail was put into creating the Shire for Peter Jackson's movies. New Zealand's natural jaw-dropping beauty combined with the excellent craftmanship and attention to detail of the set designers make for an almost absurd sense of reality as you flick your way through the pictures. What do you mean, this was a movie set? I'm pretty sure it's evidence of a real-life Hobbit colony!
Just put this on in the background, scroll through the gallery and enjoy:
[Reddit]
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