So at first I was all “I need to travel to Matamata and see Hobbiton myself. I can slam the door behind me and refuse to let anyone else in ever and live very happily in my tiny home I claimed squatter’s rights over.” But after evaluating my finances and my aversion to arrest for trespassing, I was like “Uhm, let’s get one of those Hobbit Hole playhouses instead.”
Eventually I just settled for some Hobbit Lego. I am not as industrious as this guy, though.
When Ashley Yeates of Bedford, England started digging up a dead apple tree in his back yard, he was left with a sizable pile of torn-up turf, and an idea. (Author’s Note: Everyone knows guys named Ashley are virile and creative.) He spent a year excavating, framing, and custom fitting his very own Hobbit Hole by hand.
He dug out the entire space with a shovel. Then he built a wooden frame, capped it with a water-tight roof, and covered the whole thing in turf.
In regards to the engineering:
“We used decent boards on the roof as well so they could take plenty of weight and I’m actually able to get my mower up there to keep the top nice and trimmed!”
After getting the outside finished, he went and custom built shelving, cupboards, and benches for the inside of the “house,” as well as wiring it for electricity.
from Good Morning America:
“It blends in very well to the surroundings but provides quite a shock when the door is opened to reveal the interior. I did have a big family party not long after it was completed,” said Yeates, “and yes, the kids literally spent the whole day in there – just shutting themselves inside and playing.”
While Bag End doesn’t have electric lights, it does supposedly have plumbing, something Yeates says he’s looking in to for future additions to the project. Landscaping is his thing, so he’s offering to work on commission for anybody thinking about planting their own Hobbit house in the yard.
Sidebar: Are building codes very lax in the UK? I’m not even allowed to move my shed to fill in the holes a groundhog left underneath it.
You can check out more process photos at Ashley’s Tumblr.
Via Neatorama