The biggest question asked about Tibbleburrow is,
Where is it going to be?
The short answer is that we don't know yet!
We are researching the possibilities and suitability of many potential properties, working with the Department of Natural Resources, Realtors, County officials, and Local surveyors to find the ideal piece of land that will transport us to that peaceful corner of Middle Earth.
The general area in our search is an arc from Random Lake to the town of Eden to Watertown in South East Wisconsin. The Ice Age Trail and Kettle Moraine preserve swath of the state have many rolling hills and open vistas to find our home.
As you can imagine, finding the property is only part of the quest. When investigating who owns a parcel of land, you may run into multiple individual owners of a larger area. Contacting them all and seeing if they are willing to part with the property can often be challenging. Securing funding, assessing its possibilities, and working around its problems are all challenges we face in finding the home for Tibbleburrow. So we check each box, make contacts, and work to find the best plot to call home.
The following is a list of concerns and conditions that would make an ideal place to build. We would need a fair amount more room than the Movie set in New Zealand, as the hobbit holes will be a home you can actually live in with square footage. Hobbiton movie set has 44 doors and don't have homes behind them. It is fair to say you could not get 44, 800 sq ft, homes into the 12-acre lot they use. This will be much more spread out, even if we only start with 22 houses and expand later.
We see
A public area with rentals,
A more private rental area - set back so as not to be disturbed by the hubbub of the parties and guests.
A bar and grill,
An events site- for weddings and celebrations
A small lake or ponds
A home base and storage area
Multiple flower gardens, orchards, and food growing beds and fields
Parking lots.
A small barn for animals
Prairies - wild grasslands
A Solar flower garden
Windmill
These are all planned incorporations into Tibbleburrow, so the land will have to be a special place.
To put it mildly, balancing all the needs from above and all the requirements below is a challenge.
Things we are also considering that may be undesirable for our property that may spoil the mood.
~Many secluded areas don't have enough room and a-but existing houses or are slated for subdivisions and estates in the future.
We want to be able to maintain the view and peace.
~Noise pollution
Gun clubs
It's a thing in Wisconsin
Active Trains
Train crossing warning lights and alarms/bells
a 5-mile distance from active train tracks seems to
be the magic distance to be unaffected by the
sounds, seasons, and leaf cover affects it as well.
Highways
It can be loud at rush hour
Quarries
Blasting
Trucks driving constantly
Lakes
Holidays could have loud boats
a minor concern
~Light pollution
Too close to Cities with lights on
Ski Slopes
During the winter ski season, they are
lit up till close
~Power lines
The tall powerlines crisscrossing the land
~Bogs and Wetlands
It might be cost-prohibitive to reconstruct to fit our needs
~ Smells
Livestock farms
Town Dumps
Manufacturing downwind
A minor concern but one to think on.
Party Tree
If we are fortunate enough to find our party tree, it will be a central focal point to the town's events area.
With today's construction techniques, we can build hills and dig out ponds, but the one thing we can not build is a majestic mature grove or single tree. -Well, truth be told, we Can, but I hope that we won't need to entertain that project.
Tolkien spoke of Oak, Beech, and Willow being his vision for the Party tree, but since this isn't Hobbiton, we have the freedom to design and embrace what is available.
I don't think we will find a Mallorn tree, but who knows, the Lady of Light may look kindly on us.
Is there area to expand too later?
Possible later additions
Dwarf Barrel rooms
Prancing pony
Everything is oversized to make you feel smaller
Rivendell
Gondor
Other near by Attractions we could consider
Golf courses
Creating access to hiking trails,
The Ice Age Trail and
The Kettel Moraine preserve
Highly desirable connections
Restaurants
Lakes
Horses
Other State Parks
short drive to town
One final consideration is the ability of the surrounding area to support the attraction without damaging lives nor the existing townships.
Visit "Looking for the Entwives" in which we talk about the other trees, flowers, plants, and shrubbery needed for Tibbleburrow and our goals for those gardens.
We invite you to register for our email list at the bottom of each page on our Website.
Consider becoming a Patron and get in on the special giveaways and official invitations. Memberships at $3, $10, $25, $100.
Ask questions, start conversations, and please don't be shy about sharing this with those you know will want to know that we are building Hobbiton.
Your excitement will be the key to this becoming real!
This will be a family-friendly destination, safe from the crowded floors of hotels, and much more affordable than taking a trip to the movie set tour.
Our goal is to make it more real than the movie set because, well, it will be!
Real time to spend in the gardens,
Real memories you give and receive,
Real homes to spend the precious night's sleep in.
If every Tolkien Fan Gave $10 towards this project,
we could fund, build, and staff it in record time.
What will you do to bring it to life?
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