Recently, I went to Lacock, and spent some time in the Cloisters at Lacock Abbey. I have wanted to go there for ages – I love ruins anyway, as I have told you about 70,000 times (or thereabouts), and I wanted to see it because it is one of the places the Harry Potter films were, well, filmed!
Here is a shot through from one walkway through to another, and some of you may even recognise it from its role as part of Hogwarts 🙂
I am not a Harry Potter obsessive, although I know I’ve talked about the books and films a few times here, but I like to visit places which have appeared on screen because it gives me a chance to view them as ‘live’ places. We get so used to seeing buildings as historical artefacts that we forget that they were once homes, offices, workplaces. We forget they were something more than a tourist attraction.
I guess I just like to have a different point of view from which to look at a place. I also get over-excited when I see somewhere I know on screen – when Dover Castle appeared behind Chris Pine in Into the Woods I was particularly happy because not only have I been there on a few occasions but I’ve also blogged about it, and how it’s part of coming home. Yes, in some strange way, Chris Pine was at my place 🙂
On a more serious note, I also think visiting these places reminds us how we’ve got where we are – how we’ve changed over time. When I see that places reflecting the history of humanity are being destroyed, it feels as though we’re losing sight of all those people who came before us.
Maybe putting them on screen is another way to keep them intact for the future.
Happy visiting!
EJ
🙂
You’re so lucky to live near ruins. I love them, too, but mostly everything around where I live is pretty new.
We have a lot of ruins here in the UK – when I was young I used to walk past a castle on my way to and from school and just took it for granted, because there are a lot of castles in my part of the country. I only really appreciated the history and beauty as I got older.
But what you may lack in ruins I am sure you make up in sheer expanse of scenery, which I would love to experience too 🙂
Walking past a castle on the way to school every day–that is the coolest thing ever.
I never really thought about it but you’re right, it’s pretty fab. A school friend of mine had a castle at the end of her road, which I thought was great. We really do have quite a few here!