Tag Archives: Matt Smith

Victoria Park, Cardiff – August 2014

Welcome to Victoria Park!‘Ello ‘ello ‘ello and welcome to my latest Doctor Who location -Victoria Park in Cardiff.

Victoria Park is in the Canton area of Cardiff. It is a late Victorian public park, opened in 1897 and named in honour of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. There is lots to do there including a child’s playground and paddling pool, basketball and tennis courts, a bowling green and the only pitch in the universe that the Doctor has played football on!

Pretty flowers

I would like to thank www.doctorwholocations.net for helping me find this location. http://www.doctorwholocations.net is a great website to visit because it tells you everything you need to know about Doctor Who locations and I really wanted to find out about this location.

I am a big fan of football and I was desperate to find this place because it is the location for the Eleventh Doctor’s football match for the King’s Arms. In The Lodger (2010) the Doctor moves in with Craig for a little bit and gets to play in his pub footy league! When I arrived there were lots of people so it was hard to see the footy pitch but I got there eventually.

There was no sign of the Doctor and Craig playing football but at least I got to have a kickabout! I met George and Dan who were passing the ball to each other and they asked if I wanted a game. You know what happened next, don’t you? That’s right – I got a match!

George and Dan - my humble football team mates.George and Dan helped me improve my football skills by teaching me passing and shooting. I got about 6 goals past them! I didn’t get as many as the Doctor – when I last watched The Lodger I counted that he scored 8 goals. The Doctor loved playing football!

In real life Matt Smith played for Northampton Town , Nottingham Forest and Leicester City’s Youth Teams but had to give up football because of a bad back injury. Aw! But then again, not aw, because if Matt had played professional football he would never have been the outstanding Eleventh Doctor.

I was really happy to play on the pitch where Matt Smith’s footsteps have been. George and Dan really helped me so I’d like to thank them for a great game – thanks guys!

As my match ended I left the pitch and went to the bandstand to take shelter from the rain.

The bandstand - where's the band?This is the same bandstand where Donna met Miss Evangelista in The Forest of the Dead (2008) and she learns that her children are virtual reality and she is not a mother after all! The bandstand does not look old, it is a replica of a Victorian bandstand and was built in 1995 with money from the National Lottery.

Victoria Park is a great place to go to and is especially good if you like to have a kickabout or a splashabout! I had a smashing time there and hope you get a chance to come here and enjoy the park.

Thanks for reading, and see you next week. Please leave a comment to let me know if you have been to any Doctor Who locations, I would love to hear about it!

Ok, match is over, Full Time – Pheeeep! Goodbye!

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Charlestown, Cornwall – August 2013

Up the lifeboat we goAhoy mateys!

Now for a new location for ye all to see. Yet again we travel back in time to August 2013 to see the location of Charlestown, Cornwall. This was the location for the filming of The Curse of the Black Spot (2011). This episode features the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory who investigate the clues to find the missing crew of the Fancy, a pirate ship.

I travelled to Charlestown by TARDIS and I had some very special companions on this journey – my grandparents! The weather was very grotty (well,that’s how I say it) and wet even though it was summer.  Charlestown is a harbour village and is where people export china clay. Our first stop was the Charlestown Shipwreck and Heritage Centre where we learnt about lots of shipwrecks including the RMS Titanic – not the interstellar cruise liner Titanic in Voyage of the Damned (2007)!  I also learnt about the history of the area  and got on a lifeboat.

We looked at the ships in the harbour which are used for films such as Great Expectations,  Apocalypto and The Scarlet Pimpernel and TV including The Curse of the Black Spot. The Phoenix (the Fancy in the episode) is open to the public and you can go on board where Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill have walked and see where they have been swash-buckling!

After all this we went in an Inn and I ate maggots in my biscuits and drank revolting rum . Just joking.

I remember it as a fun day, as it was the first day of my holiday with my grandparents who I was staying with for a week. I definitely want to go again and you can go too.

Blast with ya all, ye scally-wags!  AARRR, time to walk the plank!!