Magical Locations Tour...
So… myself and asifidletyou recently took a long weekend to go on a Locations Tour, at least partially in honour of Bradley’s birthday. For two of the three days we had the most beautiful autumn weather, just perfect, and I got to visit a couple of new places as well as revisit some of my old favourites. There is new info or images below on Wenallt Woods, Pendragon Close and other streets in Cardiff, and Llanwonno Forest.
I’ve included small copies of lots of photos below, along with commentary. If you’d like to see larger versions of the photos, check out my merlinlocations Flickr photostream.
Castell Coch and Three Bears Caves
Our first stop was Castell Coch, where we paid homage to The Picnic Tree… Alas, we weren’t organised enough to take our own guacamole, so we ate lunch in the Castell’s tea rooms. Of course we hadn’t yet seen The Changeling, but we duly noted the bridge and gates that were used in filming.
Then we headed a little way up the road to check out Three Bears Caves, which were used as the entrance to the Tunnels of Andor in Lancelot and Guinevere.
Wenallt Woods
Next stop was a little further east of Fforest Fawr. It had been mentioned in a local newspaper report some while ago that some filming had been done in Wenallt Woods. I’ve never been able to track down any further details about what was filmed exactly where, but we figured we may as well go poke our noses around and at least get a feel for the area.
As we all know by now, one of the requirements of a location is that there be easy access for people, vehicles and equipment. There are two carparks along Wenallt Road, and the one first nearer Cardiff seems the best bet as ‘base camp’. Not only is it accessible, but you then have access to either a broad grassy area or two different paths leading into the Woods. I took some photos, just in case, but to be honest I suspect this will just be the location of one of the many generic forest scenes in the show that we will never be able to pin down.
The rather attractive path in the following photo led away from the second carpark, but it’s accessed over a stile, and I think it’s the less likely option. (Still, who knows? There is no such thing as logic involved in filming, and I’m sure Big J is capable of carrying lights, cameras and indeed the talent over any obstacles that may be found.)
River Ely
We then dropped by the lovely River Ely near Miskin, used in Lancelot and Guinevere and in The Changeling. The river was running fairly high this time, so it looked different yet again, and there was certainly less of a bank to stand upon. It was all delightful.
Thanks to pakafe we know that they filmed Merlin and Arthur's ‘pint of mead’ conversation on the hill on the other side of the track from the river, so we pondered that from afar.
Dunraven Bay
Next stop was Dunraven Bay, which was just glorious. The tide was still a fair way out, the sky was blue, and the newly fallen cliffs were bright. Honestly, this place seems different to me every time I see it, and that’s not just about changing tides and weather. This time there were considerably fewer rocks where the stream runs down across the beach.
Also part of the cliff near where Anhora stood in The Labyrinth of Gedref had fallen. It is worth remembering that when they warn you about dangerous cliffs in this area, they mean it. The freshly exposed stone, however, was the most gorgeous golden colour. I haven’t played with the colour or brightness of the following shots at all.
Cardiff suburbia
Our last location was just for fun, and was probably a bit cheeky. ems alerted us to the fact there are these streets in suburban Cardiff named in honour of the Arthurian legends - all predating the advent of our show, I hasten to add. So we had to go and be duly photographed by the appropriate signs. Ahem. But you’re not seeing those. You’re seeing the relatively innocent ones.
I just couldn’t resist that last one. I mean, dear warm-hearted Gwen. It seems that Merlin, Lancelot, Arthur and Gwaine just weren’t quite enough, so now she’s ‘leading to’ Tristram and Galahad. Well, I can’t fault her taste. ♥
Llanwonno Forest
Thanks to gealach_ros, we knew they’d filmed in the Llanwonno Forest just above the town Mountain Ash in South Wales. In the article she found, location manager Midge Ferguson said the landscape they used was very dramatic, as there had been some clearing done, and also a fire had gone through the area.
We found what must be the right place on top of a hill directly above Mountain Ash, which is on the Afon (River) Cynon. We didn’t manage to actually get up there, cos the (unsurfaced) roads are closed to unauthorised vehicles, but we did take photos from across the river valley. (Click on the second image for a close-up of the relevant area.) But now at least we’ll know it when we see it in the show!
Abergavenny train station
We dropped in here cos it was on our way from Llanwonno to Puzzlewood. Though hey we may well have gone out of our way if necessary! We ate bacon sandwiches in the cafe (sorry, Colin). Alas, there was no rolling around on the platform, however.
Puzzlewood
Next we headed to Puzzlewood, and spent a lovely couple of hours rambling around. I found a few little places which I hadn’t seen before, which was rather a thrill. Though we didn’t manage to find anything we thought might be where Merlin takes care of Arthur and meets Taliesin in The Crystal Cave. I think I found the gap between rocks which they used as the entrance to the cave, but my photo of it is so embarrassingly out of focus, I hang my head in shame. Otherwise, I managed to get a few nice shots, especially where the late afternoon sun was working for me.
Speech House Lake
We visited Speech House Lake as the sun was westering. I’ve never seen it look so attractive, no doubt due to the season and the time of day. The water was quite still except further out where it was riffled by the wind. Freya is at peace, bless her.
Amusingly - though alas I didn’t get a photo - there are planes that pass way overhead. You can’t hear them or anything, but their vapour trails reflect in the water. One short trail, reflected in the shadowed water, looked like Excalibur was there, shining in the shallows, just waiting for us to plunge out hands in… But we figured that was Arthur’s task and not ours.
As pakafe promised, the saplings are no longer planted along the lake edge, so all is clear again and available for filming.
Raglan Castle
Our last day was overcast, but the previous two days had been so very perfect we really couldn’t complain. We headed for Raglan Castle, and scrambled around, even climbing the Great Tower, from which the view was pretty awesome.
The Amazing Hedge Puzzle
And our last stop was the labyrinth, which was fun. You know, the first time I went there, I went straight through the maze without one false turn. It was weird! And the two times since, I’ve lost my way… this third time was the worst of all. How crazy is that! I’d say it shifted by magic, like Dunraven Bay shifts and changes with the elements, but I know that’s not the case. I’m just losing it, is all. :-)
And then we headed home! My eternal thanks to asifidletyou for her lovely company on a wonderful trip. ♥
I’ve included small copies of lots of photos below, along with commentary. If you’d like to see larger versions of the photos, check out my merlinlocations Flickr photostream.
Castell Coch and Three Bears Caves
Our first stop was Castell Coch, where we paid homage to The Picnic Tree… Alas, we weren’t organised enough to take our own guacamole, so we ate lunch in the Castell’s tea rooms. Of course we hadn’t yet seen The Changeling, but we duly noted the bridge and gates that were used in filming.
Then we headed a little way up the road to check out Three Bears Caves, which were used as the entrance to the Tunnels of Andor in Lancelot and Guinevere.
Wenallt Woods
Next stop was a little further east of Fforest Fawr. It had been mentioned in a local newspaper report some while ago that some filming had been done in Wenallt Woods. I’ve never been able to track down any further details about what was filmed exactly where, but we figured we may as well go poke our noses around and at least get a feel for the area.
As we all know by now, one of the requirements of a location is that there be easy access for people, vehicles and equipment. There are two carparks along Wenallt Road, and the one first nearer Cardiff seems the best bet as ‘base camp’. Not only is it accessible, but you then have access to either a broad grassy area or two different paths leading into the Woods. I took some photos, just in case, but to be honest I suspect this will just be the location of one of the many generic forest scenes in the show that we will never be able to pin down.
The rather attractive path in the following photo led away from the second carpark, but it’s accessed over a stile, and I think it’s the less likely option. (Still, who knows? There is no such thing as logic involved in filming, and I’m sure Big J is capable of carrying lights, cameras and indeed the talent over any obstacles that may be found.)
River Ely
We then dropped by the lovely River Ely near Miskin, used in Lancelot and Guinevere and in The Changeling. The river was running fairly high this time, so it looked different yet again, and there was certainly less of a bank to stand upon. It was all delightful.
Thanks to pakafe we know that they filmed Merlin and Arthur's ‘pint of mead’ conversation on the hill on the other side of the track from the river, so we pondered that from afar.
Dunraven Bay
Next stop was Dunraven Bay, which was just glorious. The tide was still a fair way out, the sky was blue, and the newly fallen cliffs were bright. Honestly, this place seems different to me every time I see it, and that’s not just about changing tides and weather. This time there were considerably fewer rocks where the stream runs down across the beach.
Also part of the cliff near where Anhora stood in The Labyrinth of Gedref had fallen. It is worth remembering that when they warn you about dangerous cliffs in this area, they mean it. The freshly exposed stone, however, was the most gorgeous golden colour. I haven’t played with the colour or brightness of the following shots at all.
Cardiff suburbia
Our last location was just for fun, and was probably a bit cheeky. ems alerted us to the fact there are these streets in suburban Cardiff named in honour of the Arthurian legends - all predating the advent of our show, I hasten to add. So we had to go and be duly photographed by the appropriate signs. Ahem. But you’re not seeing those. You’re seeing the relatively innocent ones.
I just couldn’t resist that last one. I mean, dear warm-hearted Gwen. It seems that Merlin, Lancelot, Arthur and Gwaine just weren’t quite enough, so now she’s ‘leading to’ Tristram and Galahad. Well, I can’t fault her taste. ♥
Llanwonno Forest
Thanks to gealach_ros, we knew they’d filmed in the Llanwonno Forest just above the town Mountain Ash in South Wales. In the article she found, location manager Midge Ferguson said the landscape they used was very dramatic, as there had been some clearing done, and also a fire had gone through the area.
We found what must be the right place on top of a hill directly above Mountain Ash, which is on the Afon (River) Cynon. We didn’t manage to actually get up there, cos the (unsurfaced) roads are closed to unauthorised vehicles, but we did take photos from across the river valley. (Click on the second image for a close-up of the relevant area.) But now at least we’ll know it when we see it in the show!
Abergavenny train station
We dropped in here cos it was on our way from Llanwonno to Puzzlewood. Though hey we may well have gone out of our way if necessary! We ate bacon sandwiches in the cafe (sorry, Colin). Alas, there was no rolling around on the platform, however.
Puzzlewood
Next we headed to Puzzlewood, and spent a lovely couple of hours rambling around. I found a few little places which I hadn’t seen before, which was rather a thrill. Though we didn’t manage to find anything we thought might be where Merlin takes care of Arthur and meets Taliesin in The Crystal Cave. I think I found the gap between rocks which they used as the entrance to the cave, but my photo of it is so embarrassingly out of focus, I hang my head in shame. Otherwise, I managed to get a few nice shots, especially where the late afternoon sun was working for me.
Speech House Lake
We visited Speech House Lake as the sun was westering. I’ve never seen it look so attractive, no doubt due to the season and the time of day. The water was quite still except further out where it was riffled by the wind. Freya is at peace, bless her.
Amusingly - though alas I didn’t get a photo - there are planes that pass way overhead. You can’t hear them or anything, but their vapour trails reflect in the water. One short trail, reflected in the shadowed water, looked like Excalibur was there, shining in the shallows, just waiting for us to plunge out hands in… But we figured that was Arthur’s task and not ours.
As pakafe promised, the saplings are no longer planted along the lake edge, so all is clear again and available for filming.
Raglan Castle
Our last day was overcast, but the previous two days had been so very perfect we really couldn’t complain. We headed for Raglan Castle, and scrambled around, even climbing the Great Tower, from which the view was pretty awesome.
The Amazing Hedge Puzzle
And our last stop was the labyrinth, which was fun. You know, the first time I went there, I went straight through the maze without one false turn. It was weird! And the two times since, I’ve lost my way… this third time was the worst of all. How crazy is that! I’d say it shifted by magic, like Dunraven Bay shifts and changes with the elements, but I know that’s not the case. I’m just losing it, is all. :-)
And then we headed home! My eternal thanks to asifidletyou for her lovely company on a wonderful trip. ♥