Inklings Week: Places to Visit as a C.S. Lewis and Tolkien Fan
Happy International Inklings Day!
(Welcome to Inklings Week 2023. You can find all the posts here. Subscribe and don’t miss a post!)
Happy International Inklings Day! Today is the day we celebrate when C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien met for the first time. This sparked a decades-long friendship and life-changing books in the process. If you want to dig deeper into their friendship, I recommend checking out this post I wrote about their friendship.
This year for International Inklings Day, I thought I would share a fun list of places you should visit if you’re an Inklings fan. I’ve only been to one of this list, so I have a lot more traveling to do myself!
Yew Tree Door
Just look at this amazingly fantastical tree door! This is the Yew Tree Door in the Cotswolds.
According to this post the door is “studded with nails and crowned by some ancient stained glass windows [and] many believe that the doors inspired J.R.R. Tolkien’s Doors of Durin.”
Oxford, England
This is a must! It’s also the one place on this list I’ve been to. When I went in 2004, we only did a day trip. I’m thankful it included the Eagle and the Child (since it’s still closed, but I hope it opens soon), but there are still so many places to see! Above are a few photos from my trip. Don’t mind the shaky image of the sign from inside The Eagle and Child, those were film days, you just had to trust you captured it right and clearly I was a bit shaky with that one!
There are plenty of lists of Lewis and Tolkien places to see in Oxford, but one that I have yet to see? Merton College, where they first met.
Belfast and Northern Ireland
As Lewis’ birthplace, this is one high on my list. I’d love to hang out in the C.S. Lewis Square in Belfast.
Off of Circular Road in Belfast, is “Little Lea,” the home Lewis and his family moved to in 1905.
Lewis first encountered these beautiful ruins in northern Ireland when he was a young boy on vacation with his family. These ruins are of Dunluce Castle on the County Antrim coast. He also said that the castle was the inspiration for Cair Paravel. And after recently re-reading Prince Caspian, I can picture the early scenes of the book so much more!
Marion E. Wade Center Museum at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL.
Shoutout for a U.S. option! Here you can see all manner of Inklings history, including the Lewis Family Wardrobe and the desk of Tolkien. There are also some other permanent features from other Inklings, like the eyeglasses of Dorothy L. Sayers.
New Zealand
As the center of the movies, this is another obvious option to include. I’d love to visit every single filming location, starting with Hobbiton first.
Birmingham, UK
There are quite a few Tolkien places to visit in Birmingham, UK. While he was born in South Africa, he moved here with his mom and brother when he was four, so many of his young inspirations come from the areas outside the city. There’s even a Birmingham Tolkien Trail that “highlights all the must-see areas for Tolkien Tourists, from the two towers of Edgbaston Waterworks and Perrott's Folly, to the Shire-like Sarehole Mill, and even his aunt's farm, Bag End.” You can get the trail info here.
The Library of Birmingham (pictured above) also holds some archives related to Tollers, so if you need some research done, this is the place!
Switzerland
Tolkien went on a trip from Interlaken to the Lauterbrunnen Valley and many scenes from LOTR were inspired by this picturesque valley. I don’t blame him, it’s gorgeous!
Have you visited any of these Inklings Inspired places? If not, which would you love to see first?
© 2023 Jamie Lapeyrolerie
Visited Oxford/The Kilns last year and would highly recommend it.
Addison’s Walk at Magdalen College in Oxford is my favorite place. The conversation that happened there is one I wish I could eavesdrop on.