~ Tolkien’s hometown ~
Among Birmingham’s most famous sons is the popular author
J.R.R. Tolkien, best known for his fantasy works such as the
Lord of the Rings trilogy, the 20th century’s best selling works of fiction.
Although Tolkien was born in South Africa, the author’s family was from Birmingham. They moved back here when he was 3 years old and he spent his entire childhood in our fantastic city.
Tolkien loved his hometown, particularly the area around his early home in the south of Birmingham. This is why so many of the landmarks here inspired him and served as models for buildings and places in his novels, mainly in
The Hobbit and
The Lord of the Rings .
Many of these sites can still be visited. Certainly, the city used to look very different from what it does now, but you can still feel the magic of specific places and imagine why they were so inspirational to Tolkien that they influenced his writing.
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~ The Middle Earth Weekend 2009 ~
As Birmingham is such a special place for all things Tolkien, there is an annual event to celebrate the life and works of the author, focusing on his local connections:
The Middle Earth Weekend!
This year, it will take place on the
16th and 17th May - celebrating its 10th anniversary!
The location is the Shire Country Park, in and around
Sarehole Mill, where Tolkien lived and played as a child. This year’s theme is simply¬â€
‘Exploring Middle Earth’ and a variety of events and activities will take place over the two days between 11am and 5pm.
From the organisers:
“The weekend is an event suitable for fans of Tolkien’s stories, for children and their families and anyone who enjoys a festival with an ‘old-fashioned’ feel about it. Literature, music and drama can be enjoyed as well as plenty of hands-on activities.”
For more information about what to expect see
here and
here.
Admission to the main event is free, but there will be a charge for some of the activities.
It’s easy to get there from our Birmingham hostel:
Trains leave from Snow Hill Station, which is a 5 minutes walk from the Hatters.
Alternatively you can buy a day ticket and take a bus to the event. You could use it afterwards for travelling to some more Tolkien related places around the city!
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~ The Tolkien Trail ~
Can’t make it here for the Middle Earth weekend? Don’t worry, all the Tolkien-related sites are here for 365 days a year and
Birmingham is always worth a visit! Take a day or two to explore and discover all the places were Tolkien lived, played, worked, went to school, plus of course all the places and buildings his books are based on!
If you’re staying with us at the
Hatters we will make sure to provide you with all our insider knowledge about the spots, how to get there and all other information that you might need!
Grab one of our Tolkien Trail leaflets with maps and background information that we designed specially for you and head off to explore Tolkien’s Birmingham!
This is also a great way to see different areas of the city, as it will lead you to contrasting places from the busy, bustling centre to green leafy suburbs and even the quiet and peaceful countryside just outside the city. A brilliant opportunity to combine Tolkien’s heritage with getting to know the real Birmingham!