Tag Archives: Wales

Doctor Who, New location

Neath Abbey, Neath Port Talbot – August 2014

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This feels cosyCroeso nol !

I am saying ‘Welcome Back’ in Welsh because we are travelling back in time and space again to Wales in August 2014. This time we are at Neath Abbey in the town of Neath which has been used as the filming location for several Eleventh Doctor episodes.

Croeso a Abaty Nedd

Neath Abbey is close to Neath but it feels away from it all and it is a very tranquil place to visit. It is managed by CADW who protect Wales’ heritage – CADW is a Welsh word meaning ‘to keep or protect’.

Neath Abbey is 885 years old and was first established all the way back in 1129AD by the Norman Richard de Granville for Savigniac Monks from Western Normandy in France. It became a Cistercian monastery in 1149. The abbey remained open until 1539 when the Tudor King Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. The abbey is now fallen into ruins but you can use your imagination to feel what it was like to be there when it was the largest abbey in Wales.

What is that?

When I visited it was very peaceful and I was alone with my companions. The weather was mild, ideal for exploring the area where, in Vincent and the Doctor (2010), Vincent van Gogh fought the Krafayis – a monster only he could see! Luckily,there was no alien there when I visited. Or was there…?

The Control Room in The Beast Below (2010) was also located in Abaty Nedd (what Welsh people would call it) where the Doctor and Liz 10 looked at the brain of what keeps the Starship UK up in space – a Star Whale which was the last of it’s kind !

Also , the Gangers in the two- part episode The Rebel Flesh and the Almost People (2011) used a machine in one of the chambers of the monastery they worked in to turn the Flesh into Gangers – again, filmed here at the abbey.

I could not recognise any of these scenes; the abbey looked a lot different in real life. The cast and crew must have transformed the whole place to film these episodes! There were also barriers all over the site as the horrible weather we had in the winter damaged the walls and they were not safe. CADW are working to save the abbey from further damage.

I spent my time there trying to picture what the abbey would have looked like before it was dissolved and it was, as historian John Leland put it “the fairest abbey of all Wales.” I like visiting ruins because I like to put myself in the same places where history has been made! I think the building is in very good condition for it’s age really. I did make friends as I came out – with a lovely brown dog. We had a fun game of ‘fetch’ and apparently he goes to the abbey everyday for his walk so if you go I hope you bump into him.

And no , that ISN'T the Dartmoor Hound !

I suggest that all Doctor Who fans should definitely go and visit – it is a great place and it’s free to get in!

Thanks for reading – my next post will be about an exclusive Classic Doctor Who location that I was lucky enough to visit at the weekend. I hope you come back and check it out!

Dewch yn ol yn fuan!

Doctor Who, New location

Victoria Park, Cardiff – August 2014

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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!

Doctor Who, New location

Caerphilly Castle / Castell Caerffili – August 2014

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Welcome to Caerphilly CastleHawdammor and welcome to my latest Doctor Who location – Caerphilly Castle!

Caerphilly Castle is the largest castle in Wales and second largest in Britain after Windsor Castle ( home to the Queen, along with many other places!). In 1268 Gilbert ‘The Red ‘ De Clare began to build Caerphilly Castle. He was a redheaded English Earl descended from the Normans and was born down the road from me in Christchurch! He built the castle to stop the land from falling into the hands of Welsh rival Llywelyn ap Gruffudd.

Either that or it is a disguised 29th Century Spaceship!

I visited Caerphilly Castle on a very sunny day and explored the castle because it a filming location for Robot of Sherwood (2014), The Vampires of Venice (2010), Nightmare in Silver (2013) and many more episodes. It is managed by CADW, who conserve Wales’s heritage. As I was walking to the castle it looked full of excitement and I had to enter over a bridge because there was a moat all around it – the same moat that Guido took the Doctor and Rory across to visit the House of Calvieri in Venice!

After I went in, the first area I saw was the large courtyard, setting for the Golden Arrow Archery Tournament in Robot of Sherwood. When I was there there was no sign of the Sheriff of Nottingham or the Robots. Maybe my TARDIS wasn’t set to 1190ish? I made a wish in the well and my coin went PLOP which means that it was going down deep. In the episode the crowd were stood up high watching the archery – this was actually the ‘hourd’ where the soldiers used to fire their arrows and other missiles at their enemies! Where are the targets?

Next I ventured into the castle and walked up a lot of stairs. I explored the rooms on the way up and imagined that I was back in Norman times.  It was a nice day but at the top of the towers the windows were tapping and the wind was howling.

The Doctor and Rory were searching all around these corridors and stairs in Vampires of Venice. They even went down a corridor which has a ghost in it! The Braose Gallery is a hidden corridor and is haunted by the Green Lady. I wasn’t very happy to go down it but it wasn’t really that scary.

Woooh- is there a ghost behind me???

Next I went in the Great Hall and pretended to be a Norman King! This is the room where the Eleventh Doctor played his chess match at Natty Longshoe’s Comical Castle in Nightmare in Silver. It is very easy to recognise even without the Doctor playing chess against the Cyberplanner!Let's have some lunch.

Before I went I visited the Leaning Tower – it leans even more than the Tower of Pisa! Maybe it leans because it was attacked in the Civil War – no-one is sure. I helped out the wooden man who makes sure it doesn’t topple over. He must be very tired!

Time to say goodbyeFinally it was time to leave but I had a double thumbs up great day. Looks like I wasn’t the only one to arrive in my TARDIS today! I think 4, 5 and 6 popped along for a visit too.

Everyone's TARDISs

Thanks for reading. What did you think of Robot of Sherwood? Are you liking the new Doctor so far? Please leave a comment and let me know.

Wela i chi!