Plucky in Puzzlewood - Beware the Weeping Angel

So I’ve been here twiddling my thumbs not knowing what to blog about next… thinking I’d have to wait until all my photos are uploaded from my trip to South Wales for another adventure. Anyway, I was trying to free some space up on my phone when I came across my recent August trip to Cardiff which I had completely forgotten about. I had entered a competition on Twitter for the chance to win an overnight stay at Future Inns hotels, and to my surprise, I won! I had the choice of hotel and date so I picked Cardiff Bay hotel (of course) and picked mid-August, praying for a sunny day. Luke also won another meal token so we had yet another ‘date night’ in Zizzis restaurant in the Bay, definitely recommend – and ask to book a seat by the window for lovely views. 

Because we had arrived during the summer, the Bay had transformed into a beach, with sand, deckchairs, cocktail bars, BBQ’s, fairground rides and lots of kids running around screaming with delight. We decided to head over for a nose following our meal, and found ourselves in the ‘Funhouse’. I had never been in one before, but it was sooo much fun (guess that’s where they get the name from!!)… I pretended I was in the movie ‘Grease’ for the whole 20mins, whilst Luke acted like a child spinning round on revolving plates and hugging soft rotating pillars! We then resided in Eddies Diner for a cocktail, and called it a night. 

The following morning we took advantage of our free breakfast (which was delicious – courtesy of Future Inns) and headed to the city centre. As usual, we didn’t spend much time shopping and quickly decided it was time to bring our little trip down to Cardiff to an end. After all, I was eager to visit a Doctor Who location we passed on the way, which I had been trying to persuade Luke to take me to for a long time.

 This location was Puzzlewood, nestled in the Forest of Dean. It has been used in various media including Doctor Who and Merlin, Jack and the Giant Slayer and Atlantis, amongst others. It was easy to find using the postcode provided on the website as GL16 8QB, and from there we just followed the brown tourist signs. If you are coming from the West, Puzzlewood will be located on your right, just after the signs for the steam train in Coleford.

 Prices into the wood were £6.50 for adults, £5.00 for kids aged 4-16 and FREE for ages 3 and under. They have a few animals on the farm and a park for the kids to play in of which you can wonder through first, with Shetland ponies, goats and donkeys.

 From here, we headed into the forest. Luke was annoyed because he wasn’t really interested in being there at all, so he is pictured storming ahead of me on the majority of the photos, whilst I took snapshots everywhere I looked. The main reason I decided to head to Puzzlewood was due to my love of the Series 5 two-parter ‘Time of the Angels/Flesh and Stone’. The scenes which took place in the Byzantiums Oxygen factory/forest were filmed here, where Amy is shown struggling against the Angel imprinting on her brain.

  The forest itself was such a picturesque, magical place. I had never seen anything like it, no wonder it has been chosen as a location for much loved TV and film over the years. It’s a hidden gem which I feel privileged to have visited, and I really recommend others to go visit in the future. However, I would advise that suitable footwear should be worn at all times, I had platform trainers on with hardly any grip, and I kept slipping over due to unsteady pathways and slippery wet rocks, especially on the man-made steps! I saw others in flip-flops struggling to get around, and those with little mobility finding it difficult to tread. However, due to those who own the forest not wanting to touch or alter any of its beauty, I understand why creating better walkways is being resisted.

 We were looking for anything which looked familiar to the episode, but with no clips/shots from the episode itself to hand it was impossible, and unfortunately we couldn’t find the exact spot where shots were filmed. 

The forest is a bit like a maze, I was worried at one point as we started to look as if we were going round in circles. We wondered through caves, up spiralling steps, across man-made bridges, and over stepping stones whilst wooden foot paths circled us from above, I couldn’t help but liken the place to the Star Wars franchise. (And have since found out that there have been strong rumours that the new Star Wars movies have been filming in the area).

 The only place I did recognise is the wooden bench below, of which Matt Smith and Karen Gillan relaxed on during a break in filming, which I didn’t realise they sat on until we we’re driving home and I looked up pictures from when they filmed there.

All in all, once Luke had calmed down I think he really liked the forest, and I absolutely loved it. We spent about an hour here but I could have easily spent much longer. I definitely recommend it to anyone for a visit; not just Doctor Who fans, it is not like anything you would have ever seen before! For more information or to plan your day out, please head to the Puzzlewood website:- http://www.puzzlewood.net/

Really appreciate the lovely, new and exciting places a Doctor Who location fan gets to explore :-)

Plus, on a side note, I really recommend the hotel in which we stayed. It is located near to The Red Dragon Centre, a five minute walk from Cardiff Bay. It is a lovely, clean hotel with spacious rooms and a spotless en suite. Book your stay here:- http://www.futureinns.co.uk/

So that was just about it for my short break in Cardiff, but I have since returned from a birthday stay in Swansea, where me and Luke visited some more locations in South Wales. I will hopefully blog these to you soon, but I have just started my new job as a Marketing and Communications Officer in the NHS, so that will have to be my main priority until I am settled in... wish me luck!

Thanks for reading, blog to you all soon :-)

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Locations from 'The Snowmen' - 2012 Doctor Who Christmas Special

Its been way too long since I went out and about exploring locations from my favourite television series of all time, so I thought I'd better set this right, for all our sakes. The truth is, me and Luke had planned and prepared a weekend in Cardiff back in February this year for a little valentines getaway, but the horrendous flooding which hit the UK hard during the early part of 2014 threw a stone in the works, and I was forced to turn the car around and drive back home barely 8 miles or so down the road.

 So we re-booked our trip for an early weekend in April which luckily turned out to be a sunny and dry few days. I decided to visit a few locations from the latest series of Doctor Who, due to the fact that I had followed a lot of the set reports on Twitter during the weeks of filming, so I had a good idea where a lot of the filming had taken place. After mapping out a few locations, me and Luke mutually decided to visit Bristol, which was used primarily in the 2012 Christmas special  The Snowmen. I had wanted to visit Bristol since I found out this episode was filmed here, so I could finally now tick it off my list of places to see.


 Since then I have been extremely busy with moving house (very stressful) and going away on holiday. So I have finally got round to writing this post for you.

 We arrived in Cardiff Friday afternoon, got changed and went for a meal at the lovely Italian restaurant Zizzis in Cardiff Bay. Luke had won a meal of up to £50 so he treated us both to a starter, main course and we shared a bottle of chilled white wine. We went for a wonder around the bay once we had finished and took some lovely photos of the sun setting and topped off the evening with a cocktail in Eddies Diner. It was a lovely way to spend our delayed valentines getaway together.

  Anyway, back on track, we were up Saturday morning a bit groggy from the previous nights drinks and headed down to the trainstation to catch the train to Bristol. We bought tickets for Bristol Temple Meads station after I googled the city map and highlighted the areas/location spots I wished to visit.

 We exited Bristol Temple Meads and immediately ran into trouble. You see, we aren’t the best couple at reading maps, and neither of us had been to the city before, so trying to find our way to the right locations was pretty difficult. Plus, I have never known a city to have so many traffic lights/pedestrian crossings. There are like four crossings just to get to the other side of a ring road taking about 10minutes! Anyway, we headed to what turned out to be my favourite place in the city, recommended by many of the locals; the docks. Unfortunately we picked a bit of a grey day, otherwise I’m sure the scenery particularly around this area would have been very pretty, plus Victoria Square looked like a lovely place to stop for lunch on a sunny day.

 However we headed over the footbridge and were greeted by a range of restaurants, but of course, we stuck to good old Weatherspoons! After re-energising, we went on the hunt for Bristol’s Cathedral, which only happened to be around the corner, and took some photos. A few minutes’ walk down the road we were heading to find some of the notorious graffiti artist Banksy’s work. We had a typical silly moment of looking left and right and on the sides of buildings, when the whole time the graffiti was pictured right behind us! Before heading to Bristol, I did a bit of research and looked into all the right places to visit, and a tour of Banksys art work was highly recommended. However, due to our lack of time, we opted to just look for any graffiti on foot during our mission around the city, but we did agree that if we went back to Bristol again, it is definitely something we would think about doing.

 Anyway, now for the real reason I’m blogging about Bristol: The Doctor Who location visits. As an avid viewer of any behind the scenes content the BBC Doctor Who team broadcast and an interest in any filming reports, I was aware the Doctor Who 2012 Christmas special was to be filmed in the city of Bristol.

First we headed up to St Nicholas Market on Corn Street to find the first Doctor Who location of the day. This location was chosen because of its Victorian streets which fit in perfectly with the story-line set in Victorian London, so it was easy to spot when walking through the city centre. The market was up and running once we got there, and it was as busy as ever, so I tried to take as many pictures as I could of the surroundings. 

From watching the behind the scenes extra show, I was aware that some of the alleyway shots taken near where we first saw Clara working in the Rose and Crown were located near the market. Me and Luke walked up and down a few different alleys in the area until we settled on one which I looked familiar. I had the episode downloaded onto my iphone, so I had a quick check, and although it was hard to tell at first because the ground wasn’t covered in *fake* snow, it was soon pretty obvious it was the right place. I think its pretty interesting that the show manages to find the smallest, insignificant spaces, and make them magical. If I didn’t realise Doctor Who was filmed in the city, I wouldn’t have looked twice at this little spot.

You can really see the added props and hidden shop signs which helps to bring a little hideaway alleyway to life, creating the look and feel of Victorian London. Luckily, this alleyway already contained a few features of old England - The historic buildings, iron gates and Victorian Lamp posts, for example. Oh, and here's me trying to recreate the scene where Clara decides to follow the Doctor on foot... cringe! :-

There were quite a few decent looking market stalls on the market, a lot selling Banksy memorabilia, Bristol are obviously very fond of their infamous graffiti artist, but we only got to purchase a drink each and we were off to find the next location.

Merging our 'fantastic' map reading skills together, and Luke yelling ‘Banksy!’ at everyone walking past to see their reaction (he was adamant that he wanted to unmask the artist himself), we took the 20 minute walk or so to Portland Square. 

Nestled away from the busy streets of the city centre, Portland Square is a small park area with greenery, trees and benches, located in the middle of very rich, tall buildings. A real little gem hidden away from the bustling streets of Bristol, I can see why this spot was chosen for filming, not just for Doctor Who, but also as a location for the Series 3 opener of BBC Sherlock, 'The Empty Hearse', where John Watson is trapped under a lit bonfire.

Back to Doctor Who, this location was used as the spot beneath where The Doctor has landed his TARDIS in the clouds. From here, the Doctor takes one big leap and pulls down a ladder to which he can then ascend the spiral staircase to his time machine. However, unbeknownst to him, Clara has secretly followed him every step of the way.

Five points if you can spot me in the photograph below! Yes, there were people in the park at the time, they must've wondered what on earth I was doing!

 Anyway, we had fun recreating these poses to try and match the episode as much as possible. Luke laughed a lot and made me jump in the air more than I needed to so he could ‘get the best shot’. I hope you enjoy looking through them as much as I enjoyed recreating them J Next time I’ll have to hire a period costume for the added ‘Clara’ effect.

 So that was pretty much is for our time in Bristol, as we navigated our way back to the station before the heavens opened, and left Cardiff by car before evening fell.

I hope you are enjoying the new series with our new Doctor. They seem to be reusing a lot of the locations I have been to previously for the new episodes, so I may have to use this as a valid excuse to revisit some of my favourites. I do, however, miss Matt Smith a lot. He was such a genius actor and a credit to the show. However, Peter is growing on me with every episode, last Saturdays Robot of Sherwood being my favourite so far. Jenna is still a perfect, witty, strong companion and I am excited to see how Danny Pink fits into the storyline. The story arc for this season also looks very interesting; I am keen to know who Missy is and what this so-called ‘promised land’ is. The Christmas episode is currently filming, so please keep me updated if you see any locations on the set reports you may think is worth a visit.

My next planned trip to South Wales falls in October, so I’m hoping to head to some of the more rural locations then as I stay in a lodge for my birthday in the middle of the Welsh hills. Hopefully then, my next post won’t take as long to put together, but with working such long hours right now it is hard to fit any time in for blogging unfortunately. If you have any good locations you would like me to visit, please let me know.

In the meantime, I will be updating my locations page with all the latest episodes as I go along. Feel free to have a nose:-)

Blog to you soon

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A visit to Graystark Hall Orphanage

 Valentines weekend had been planned months in advance with a cheap and cheerful £12 hotel sale. However, the whole stay was pretty much weather-dependent and after the amount of snow, wind and rain the UK had been getting over the previous weeks, we really weren't sure whether we would ever make it down to Cardiff. 

 Thankfully, Saturday arrived alongside the sun beaming high in the sky so off I drove with Luke down to Wales, location stops in hand. 

Bottom Image: Courtesy of BBC

 Our first location was Troy House, Monmouth. We by-pass the town on the way to Cardiff so how we have missed the stop in the past is beyond belief. A cheeky 5 minute detour off the beaten-track later we arrived. 

Bottom Image: Courtesy of BBC

 Cast your minds back to Doctor Who Series 6, and the second of the two-parter Day of the Moon. Canton Delaware and Amy Pond head off to the children's orphanage in search for a missing girl. Here, Amy is later taken by the Silents once she finds the little girls room.  

 I would recommend that those who wish to stop at this location in the future take extra care, unless you have a flashy 4x4 car or are prepared to walk from the main road. My baby Clio unfortunately got battered and bruised through the dirt track leading to the mansion, which is surrounded by farmland and a fully operational working farm. Therefore, the route was full of potholes, pools of water and all sorts of gravel, stones and mud. My bad. I don't think I will be venturing along there again! 

 Anyway, following me totally mastering the slightly off-road driving experience we finally reached the gothic gates, hopped out of the car and landed right into the horrifying squelch of... mud - A lot of it -And in my best shoes. Yes, a top tip if you fancy heading to the spot: PACK THOSE WELLIES! A quick jump out of the car and a few snapshots later then amounted to two dogs hurtling towards the gates from the inside barking like crazy. I suppose it made a change from the eerie silence. We did consider ringing the bell and asking if we could have access to the inside of the grounds for some pictures, but the dogs really startled us so we headed off. 

Note - the amount of mud covering the ground behind me!

 We stopped at two further Doctor Who locations during our little weekend getaway. The next was Fields House from Blink and the final spot, a filming location from Fathers Day. I will try my best to put together posts on both of these as soon as possible! In the meantime, I hope you all have a wonderful week and are starting to get over them horrid Monday Blues!

If you fancy heading to Troy House, Monmouth:

• Drive carefully and watch out for uneven surfaces/potholes which could seriously damage your car.
• Park close to the main road and walk down to the house (takes approx 5-10 minutes).
• Wear wellies/boots.
• Be aware of the guard dogs. 

Note: The Clio is now all well and good, and since our trip has been cleaned inside and out. Sustained minor scratches to the front of the car - it was all worth it!

To find more about this historic building, you can head to the wikipedia site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_House  *slaps her University Higher-Educated wrists*

With thanks to http://www.doctorwholocations.net/  :-)

Thanks for reading

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Followed by a mad man and his blue box... The Mailbox, BBC Birmingham

...And I am certainly not complaining! (Sadly, yet to find that mysterious mad man!)

 On Friday 8th February me and my partner headed to the Britain's Got Talent live auditions in Birmingham (blog post to follow), when we decided to stop off and check out Birmingham's very own BBC headquarters, located in the Mailbox.

 We were both first-time visitors to the building, and after perusing around some of the shops we located the BBC entrance. At this moment I acted like a squealing, excitable little child after spotting the TARDIS behind the glass window and, failing to compose myself, sprinted towards the door. 

 Unfortunately, the TARDIS doors were bolted shut - (obviously the doctor knew I would be making a visit and took extra precautions!) Nevertheless, there was a photo opportunity to be had, and a supply of Doctor Who character masks begging to be worn! However, resisting temptation of becoming an Ood, the Empty Child or even Amy Pond for the day, I sported the au naturel PluckyKelly look, see below :-)

Is that my mad man running up the stairs I see...?

 After a quick browse in the BBC store - where you can find all your BBC favourites, and a whole section on Doctor Who/Torchwood goodies (see more HERE) we headed up the stairs. BAD IDEA. Because located at the top of the steps and guarding the first floor, was a menacing Dalek.

 After checking defences and ensuring the Dalek was restrained, I braved a photo, had a quick nose around the multiple studios through the glass windows, grabbed a tours leaflet and made a hasty run for it with Luke. We had survived.

Me looking exceptionally short next to the Dalek

 So after a rather restless afternoon running away from Daleks, searching for that mad man and trying to find our way into the city centre, me and Luke finally made it to the ICC, ready for the Britain's Got Talent Auditions. I will include all the details and lots of pictures of my evening with Mr Cowell in my next blog post :-) 

 In the meantime I was wondering whether any of you had been on the BBC Midlands Today Tour at the Mailbox? If so, would you recommend a visit? Drop me a Tweet or Email  - details of these HERE.

 Overall, my trip to the Mailbox was not the first time I had come across a lonely Time Machine. Back in November when I attended the Dirty Dancing Tour at Cardiff's Millennium Centre with mum, I was astonished to find the TARDIS sat in the foyer, being ignored by the surrounding crowds...

So do I believe someone out there is following me? No, of course not! But if the Doctor was to open them ancient blue doors, I'd travel the stars alongside him any day. 

*The Doctor. In the TARDIS. Next stop: Everywhere*

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Jenna Louise Coleman to attend Convention

Jenna Louise Coleman
Image: BBC

I've only attended two conventions before. The first was Memorabilia Birmingham back in November 2011, where I met Arthur Darvill -Blog Post Here- and the Doctor Who Convention, Cardiff in March 2012 -Blog Post Here- . Both had a brilliant atmosphere and were a fantastic day out - From here, I vowed to attend many more cons.

So when I saw through Twitter that Jenna Louise Coleman, the Doctors new companion, was due to attend Collectormania 19 in Milton Keynes, I snapped up some photo opportunity tickets straight away! It is her first and only announced convention this year currently!

You too can buy your photo session tickets with Jenna from HERE - limited availability - be quick!

To find out information on the event, view the latest news or to see which other guests are attending, head over to the Collectormania website HERE

The event is from Saturday 25th May - Monday 27th May 2013 at the Milton Keynes Dons Stadium.

Happy New Year everyone! 

Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and especially enjoyed the Doctor Who Christmas special 'The Snowmen'. 

How good was Jenna Louise Coleman as Clara?! And as always, a superb performance from Matt Smith, in my opinion. The chemistry on screen between the Doctor and his new companion is phenomenal. I just can't wait for Series 7 Part 2 to begin! 

So we are all sad that Christmas and New Year celebrations are over, but at least we can start looking forward to the year ahead, and at what 2013 has to offer...

IT (was) CHRISTMAAAAAS!!!!! 

Had someone been peaking at my Christmas list...?

My Santa-Cat, Alfie

Did Santa bring you any cool Doctor Who related goodies down the chimney?? 

I received these amazing "Police Box" gloves, which my partners auntie knitted for me, they are awesome, I think you may agree - I just had to share :-) I also gave in and purchased the Tardis style dressing gown for my partner, he had been hinting at it for months!

My partner also purchased some Doctor Who pyjamas for me off the website etsy. They were created and shipped from America, so although he ordered a few weeks before Christmas, the seller was slightly late posting the item out so I was a few days late receiving them! It was worth the wait though, they are a perfect fit and are very comfortable :-) I am ensure of the exact seller my partner used, but I have found a seller who designs the same trousers - HERE

I have a few posts lined up which I have been thinking about over the festive period. Hopefully I can get these up over the next few weeks and I also have lots of trips planned over the coming months which I can't wait to share :-) 

Many Thanks for your continued support over 2012, all the comments/views/follows on here and my PluckyKelly Twitter are really appreciated. I love discussing my love for all things Doctor Who, and, well just about everything with you guys. Feel free to leave me a comment or contact me on twitter.

Here's to a successful 2013!

Thank you for reading

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Farewell, Glorious Ponds

*Warning- Spoilers on the Pond’s departure*

My third and final post from my South Wales trip back in October contains probably one of my favourite locations, from the Series 7 Part 1 finale, ‘The Angels Take Manhattan’, where we say goodbye to Amy Pond and Rory Williams.

The Tardis was located to the left of me in the top photo, when filming The Angels Take Manhattan.
Courtesy: BBC

Amy sits on the grave located bottom right on the top pic. Courtesy: BBC

When checking out the Doctor Who Locations website for filming spots near where we were staying, I really wanted to visit a site which had something to do with the Ponds’ departure. They have been my favourite companions, who I have grown to love dearly and I have to admit, it was very upsetting to see them leave.

So when I found out that the graveyard used in the final scenes were filmed not in New York where the episode is set, but in Llanelli, 40mins down the road and near the Toby Carvery we were heading to for Sunday lunch, there was no excuse not to go.

Amy and Rory before their emotional farewell.
Courtesy: BBC

The journey down to Llanelli was pretty straight forward, and the weather was lovely! Searching for the graveyard once we popped the postcode into the sat-nav was simple to, although we did drive past it straight away as we didn’t expect the cemetery to be so easy to find.

We parked up on a housing estate and walked through the huge steel gates, where we found vehicle access and parking - for those who wish to visit. 
Out of respect, we kept our visit short and sweet, as I did feel a bit odd walking around a graveyard, but there were quite a few people cutting through on the public footpath that circled the cemetery and a number of locals walking dogs! I’ve always seen graveyards as spooky places, so I tend not to visit with family when they go to lay flowers, but this one was extremely gothic, I can see why it was chosen for such a powerful episode.

I wasn’t sure where the scene was filmed; I’d taken some screen shots with me for help but wasn’t having any luck. Whilst my partner went off for a walk around I sat on the bench for a few minutes and streamed the behind the scenes Youtube video for the episode on my phone. I glanced around but couldn’t recognise anywhere, but then as I turned and looked directly behind me everything matched up to what I could see on the screen perfectly. We took a few pictures on the grassy area near where the Tardis had stood and left.
 

After going home and watching the episode, low and behold the bench I had been sat on was included within the episode! How weird? It was an odd feeling to be there, where we see the demise of two much loved characters, but I’m sure they will go on to bigger things and become huge stars in their own right.

The Angels Take Manhattan Series 7 Part 1. Bench circled.

Sorry for how long this post has taken to go live, I'm once again up to my neck in uni work, but with deadlines next week I will soon be able to enjoy the Christmas period! Oooh, and I'm doing my dissertation on Doctor Who, how exciting!

Hope you enjoy the post:-) blog to you all soon!

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