Definitely Not Blinking at Wester Drumlins

 Next on my Doctor Who location list was a spot from another one of my all-time favourite Doctor Who episodes.

 'Blink', is a Series 3 adventure by the tenth doctor. It stars the brilliant actress Carey Mulligan as Sally Sparrow who, whilst looking for subjects to photograph, climbs into the derelict Wester Drumlins house. But she's not alone, as this episode sees her encounter the weeping angels. Reminder BBC Trailer here.

 A wrong turn off the motorway later and we finally found 'Fields House' (how its really known - In my opinion, I think the owners should consider changing it to the fictional name) on the side of a quiet housing area in Newport. I have to admit, from watching the episode I was led to believe that the house was located off the beaten track in the middle of the countryside, abandoned because of its traditional architecture. Therefore I was surprised whilst driving past (and admiring) all the lovely modern houses in the area to be suddenly startled by the huge gothic gates. I then hastily turned to my partner who had a clearer view from the passenger seat and asked 'was that Wester Drumlins?' To which he replied 'I don't think so, no'. Clearly he needs be more observant, as it is hard to miss! I've included some of my snapshots below:-

Bottom IMG: BBC Doctor Who Confidential

*Don't blink. Blink and you're dead. They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And don't blink. Good Luck.* 

 Parking outside the house means parking on quite a steep hill, please remember to put your handbrake on. The shots we took weren't the best because of the position of the sun, *damn you sun* and as you can see, the ray of light managed to creep into every picture! The front of house was full of building tools and material, we could hear the construction work going on round of the side of the house, therefore no matter how much I would have loved to have gone in and had a few pictures inside the house, no one would have heard us at the gate anyway. 
 
  Fields House was also used for interior shots of the 2012 Christmas Special, The Snowmen. If anyone knows which scenes these were for, I'd be generally intrigued to know :-) 

 If I am completely honest, the property has a very eerie feel to it, or maybe thats just because I'm a Doctor Who geek. I was half expecting a stone statue to appear in one of the windows...

The Doctor Who Locations Website has lots more photos and information about this spot, including shots from the interior which were used in Blink along with filming reports from the christmas special, including photos captured here of new companion Jenna Louise Coleman:- http://www.doctorwholocations.net/locations/fieldshouse

 From here, we drove off round the back of the property, where we found a over-grown lane fronted by a makeshift gate, so we decided to leave. 

 Me and the partner decided to end the night with cocktails at our favourite pub in Cardiff Bay which boasts TARDIS doors, and then on to the infamous Eddies Diner (where my partner took a creative photo using a screenshot from The Impossible Astronaut - see below).

 My third and final part to my Cardiff weekender will include the location from Series 1 'Fathers Day'. Hope you have had a great weekend, not long until Series 7 Part 2. And now we can all officially state 'Doctor Who is on this month'! To keep up on all the latest Doctor Who news follow @bbcdoctorwho or check out the website - http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho

Many thanks for reading, blog to you soon :-) 

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