Our good friend, Ian Brodie, also happens to be an award winning author and photographer, not to mention travel guide extraordinaire. Tolkien fans might be more familiar with his highly praised The Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook. While we wait patiently for the release of Brodie’s The Hobbit Location Guidebook, he’s launched a new project, this time centered around England’s Glastonbury.
Those who are familiar with the location know it because of the popular music festival held there annually. However, what’s not commonly known, is that Glastonbury is a place that holds much history and is one of the key locations that influenced J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. This new guidebook is titled Journey Through Somerset and a Kickstarter campaign to fund it has just been launched today. Also joining Ian Brodie on this project is Galatia Films, who are currently working on a film centering around Glastonbury titled, Glastonbury Isle of Light.
“Over the years whilst traveling, writing and photographing about New Zealand, I have become quite intimate with the landscape of my country as Middle-earth. I have loved every minute of these journeys, but I am also enamored with a very special geographical location: Somerset, England. As the birthplace of Arthurian legends, Glastonbury and the county of Somerset, is a magic landscape filled with ancient history, myths and legends.” – Ian Brodie
This intimate pilgrim’s guide will be filled with over 250 high quality images and will detail many stories and locations in the county. It will include significant locations relevant to the myths and legends that surround Joseph of Arimathea, his delivery of the Holy Grail to Britain in the first century and the legendary establishment of the first Christian church in Britain. Much of this was the spark for King Arthur’s quests for the grail, and it is Arthur’s tomb we can find within the sacred grounds of the ancient Glastonbury Abbey.
For those that own The Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook, you know just how breathtaking Ian’s photography is. He was able to capture Middle-earth the way no other photographer can, and I can’t wait to see how he captures the place that inspired Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
For more information, including book details and Kickstarter backer rewards, CLICK HERE.
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