The Three Bear Caves: Robots of Sherwood and Sherlock's Hounds of Baskerville

Following on from our date night in the restaurant from the Doctor Who episode 'Listen', we got up early and headed off to our first stop of the day - Castell Coch in Tongwynlais. We've been here before as it was the location used for Hedgewick's World in Series 7 Nightmare in Silver, you can find the link here; its one of my favourite locations to visit. However, this time we weren't here to see the Medieval castle in all its glory, oh no, we were instead heading north to follow the Forest Fawr country park trail.

A few wrong turns and a couple of disagreements later about Luke not being able to follow a simple map, I was eventually proved wrong when we spotted the carved statue of a bear and its cub guarding the entrance to one of my most-wanted-to-visit Doctor Who locations ever: The Three Bear Caves.

I would love to tell you how I got there, but seeing as we seemed to be walking for over an hour to find it, the Doctor Who Locations website has better instructions than I would be able to draw up. I am continually amazed how the locations experts scout these little nuggets out for film.

The caves have featured in numerous television productions, most notably to me is the Doctor Who series 8 episode Robots of Sherwood, BBC Sherlock series 2 episode The Hounds of Baskerville and SkyOne's Stella. I love spotting these familiar locations throughout all my favourite TV shows!

I decided against heading down towards the caves as the ground was very unsteady and damp; After all, I didn't want a bear to come out and grab me if I was to trip and fall. Instead, I took some pretty cool pictures from above, and sent Luke down for a closer look. I do wonder how all of the actors and film crew manage to clamber all of their equipment down to areas like this, when I can't even manage it in my sturdy military boots!

 Doctor Who: Robots of Sherwood (SERIES 9)

Sherlock: The Hounds of Baskerville (Series 2) 

Luke peered in the caves but it was too dark to see anything, unfortunately I didn't send him in against his will, so he just took some close-up photos for me. The flat area leading to the caves was much smaller than it appeared on camera, to my surprise, I wonder how they managed to get all the Doctor Who actors in shot successfully, along with all the props!

You can view more of the caves in this short video I produced from my weekend:

All in all, it was an excellent location to visit, and I would recommend anyone to go and explore. It is quite simply a hidden gem of Wales, and I feel so lucky that this hobby allows me to find all these weird and wonderful places. It's a free day out, dogs are allowed in the forest but remember to wear suitable shoes. I am sure this location will be used again in the future as it is so secluded and mystical. Look out for the Doctor Who crew there in the future! Plus, you could always explore Castell Coch at an extra small cost whilst you are on your travels. Let me know if you head there!

Oooh, we also visited the Doctor Who Experience shop where I treated myself to a new mug and t-shirt (see below). We also spotted a new edition to the props: Santa's Sleigh from the 2014 Christmas special Last Christmas.

Next, we took a bit of a detour on the way home, as we re-visited an old favourite Doctor Who location of mine, Skenfrith Castle. Read more about it soon.

Blog to you soon

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A Date in the Restaurant from 'Listen'

It was back in February when I last did some Doctor Who location hunting during Valentine's weekend. This is part one of what's going to be a three-parter blog post.

Luke took me out to a restaurant of my choice down in Cardiff Bay. I wanted to do something different than our normal Zizzi's meal so we decided on Mimosa, which happens to be a key Doctor Who location from Series 8.

Mimosa was the location of Clara Oswald and Danny Pink's dinner date in the hauntingly popular and personal favourite episode from Series 8: 'Listen'. After requesting ahead of time the same table sat on by the two characters, we soon realised when we arrived that the restaurant is laid out slightly differently when not being filmed, so we were shown to a table elsewhere. However, I did my best to capture some of the interior to give you a good feel of the location itself. See if you can recognise some of my amateur (badly taken) shots from the episode...

Notice the blinds behind Clara in the second image, our table was located just behind Danny Pink

The key part of the shot to look out for is the white railing. It looks as if the furniture was changed for the actors, but we can still work out the position of the table in regards to the bar behind located in the back of the shot.

Again, notice the position of the white railing as Clara steps up to meet her date. Orson Pink emerges from the back of the shot in the first image

 Told you they were badly taken! However, you get the feel for the restaurant I hope, and I am glad I went so I could see what the place was really like. Mimosa is a lot smaller than it looks on screen. In fact at first, I thought we may have arrived at the wrong restaurant. It is also very busy on a Friday night as we found out, and popular with students and couples. Not our usual romantic valentines day meal, but me and Luke aren't really into the lovey-dovey stuff anyway.

Here's the trailer from the episode 'Listen' as a reminder...

In reality, the only downside of our evening was the pouring rain outside which can't be helped - typical UK!! But also the wait for our first drink - it took 20 minutes to come to the table, and we were so thirsty after running through the stormy weather!

We finally ate and to be honest the food was delicious, paid, and headed on to Eddie's Diner for a cocktail. After all, I can't have a trip to Cardiff without stopping off here.

If you haven't already, check out my latest YouTube video which incorporates everything I did this weekend for a sneak-peak of whats to come in part 2+3....

I hope you are all having a relaxing summer. I have just got back from an amazing two week holiday in Cyprus, but its back to reality now, and back to being super busy at work. In other news, I have just booked a weekend away in August. I will be heading down to the glorious Valleys in South Wales yet again on the hunt for more Doctor Who locations. If you have any ideas or requests please send me a comment below, tweet or ping me across an email.

Who's heading to the Doctor Who Festival in November?? I managed to get myself a ticket and also a photo opportunity with Peter Capaldi, I can't wait to meet the man himself. Are you going? What are you most looking forward to? Are you team Dalek or team Cyberman?

I look forward to writing parts two and three for you shortly - hopefully before series 9 starts! In the meantime, tweet/facebook/email me, I'm always plugged into my phone even if I am super busy!

Blog to you soon...

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"What’s that in the mirror, or the corner of your eye? What’s that footstep following, but never passing by? Perhaps they're all just waiting, perhaps when we're all dead... out they'll come a-slithering, from underneath the bed."

The Regenerated Doctor Who Experience

Firstly, I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and celebrated the New Year in style. 

For this post, I am going to take you back in time to November, when I was due to visit the "regenerated" Doctor Who Experience and once again head over to the BBC Studios at Roath Lock to step onto the real TARDIS on the studio tour. This was all bought altogether as a joint ticket offer.

Unfortunately, our trip didn't go quite to plan. You see, I had been so busy with my new job at the time that I had not had a chance to check my emails in days. Sadly, when I finally got around to it, the Tardis Studio Tour part of the ticket had been cancelled and because I had not responded to the suppliers email quick enough, they assumed I still wanted to head to Cardiff for the Experience and didn't process my refund. I was absolutely devastated to say the least. I had been counting the days until I could step onto the real TARDIS once again. I was heartbroken, so much so that my stubbornness nearly saw me cancel the trip altogether and lose out on the money. 

However, Luke stepped in and put everything into perspective. There may be more chances in the future to step onto the TARDIS, plus the Doctor Who Experience had just reopened after refurbishment, so it was worth having a look! And if all else failed, I was off to one of my favourite places, Cardiff. 

☆☆☆  Experience ☆☆☆ 

Please note: there are little bits of detail on the experience to follow without giving too much away. If you would like to avoid any spoilers prior to your visit, please scroll down to Exhibition.

So we decided to drive the 3 hour journey down to Cardiff on our booked day. We arrived earlier than planned but the staff allowed us to queue alongside the group of an earlier timeslot. There were more props in the queuing area than during my previous visits. These included the Timelord costumes and props, as well as Clara's book "101 Places to See" from Series 7, next to The most important leaf in human history. 

Visitors are now given a crystal lanyard to wear around their necks for the exhibition part of the experience, which glows and vibrates during the different parts of the interactive walk-through.

Before heading in, we had a quick briefing from a member of the Experience team who was very enthusiastic; really getting us visitors excited for what was about to come. Once we wondered through the opened doors, we were greeted by a room full of scattered props from the show, and were told to have a nose around. We then watched a short film (which was excellent - but I shan't give anything away) and we were shown into the next room. This was probably my favourite room of the whole experience, it was magical, and the centre piece focused on a plot from Series 7.

We were then led into the TARDIS, which was my main disappointment of the experience...as it had not been revamped or regenerated since my previous visit. All that had changed was the scenario video that played during our time through the experience, which featured Capaldi instead of Smith. 

HOWEVER... do not let this change your decision to visit, I for one can say that walking into the TARDIS was wonderful during my previous visits, but with this being my third time, I was a little disappointed with the lack of regeneration in this particular scenario. Anyway, not to give much else away, we were also led through a storyline featuring the almighty Daleks (which was very similar to pre-refurb, but with a bit of an added paint-job) and then we were taken through the maze of weeping angels - again, similar to pre-refurb, but with a few extra props. To repeat - both of these parts of the scenario are brilliant for first-time visitors, so don't let me put you off! 

The final room was the 3D cinema screen, which had been updated to follow on from the main scenario that ran through the experience. 

☆☆☆   Exhibition ☆☆☆

We were then led into the exhibition hall, where all the props and sets were located. This has been my favourite part of the whole Experience in previous visits, and once again, this part of my day did not disappoint. There had been SO much more added since my previous visits. A quick suggestion - if it is quiet, head straight up the stairs to your left and visit the props up above first, as there will be more time and room to take as many photos as you like before it gets overcrowded with visitors. 

Myself and Luke decided to make the most of this part of the experience, and spent over an hour in the exhibition, taking as many photos as we could to make our trip all the way down to Cardiff for the day worthwhile - and boy, did we! I apologise in advance if the next part of my blog is picture-heavy. I have tried to include props I have not had my photo taken with previously... 

 

Fist-pump with a Weeping Angel... it seemed like a good idea at the time...

Ok, now I'm not so sure...

Worth a visit...?

Positives ☺

• The Experience guide was brilliant and should be commended for a splendid job, he really got into character and made sure that everyone, whether young or old, were involved in the story-line.

• It was more of an interactive experience - there was an opportunity to find crystals, even in the scariest of settings, and I thought it was a nice little added extra, especially for the kids. (And big kids alike)!

• A fresh, new storyline with scenarios filmed by Peter Capaldi especially for the Doctor Who Experience visitors was fantastic, it really made everyone feel part of the story, and as if you could have really been running alongside The Doctor through time and space.

• The Exhibition hall had lots of new props from Series 8 and plenty of room to take photos. The Experience team are always on hand to take any snapshots of you and your friends.

Negatives ☹ 

• Although the storyline and some of the settings were fresh and new, as I previously stated, I couldn't help but be disappointed with some of the rooms inside. The TARDIS console room, for instance, needs to be updated from the Eleventh Doctors first TARDIS. I also believe that the Dalek scenario worked better pre-refurb.

However, do not let this put you off, especially if you have never been before! The Doctor Who Experience is one-of-a-kind, situated right next door to the BBC studios where they film Doctor Who and located on the picture-perfect Cardiff Bay. I get so many people back in the little land of Shropshire asking what its like and whether it is worth the trip down south, and the answer is a definite YES! You NEED to go there to experience it for yourself, because there is nothing else out there like it. And with tickets starting at as little as £14 for an adult, and £9.75 for a child, you have no excuse not to check it out for yourselves. 

You can buy your tickets here:- http://www.doctorwho.tv/events/doctor-who-experience/tickets/ It is recommended you book in advance for a discounted price, and to avoid disappointment on the day. Plus - make sure you keep an eye out for more studio tours in the future, with your chance to walk through those infamous doors - I know I will.

Check out my previous visits to the Doctor Who Experience:

• Doctor Who Experience Opening Day - Cardiff 2012 Review and Pics
• Doctor Who Tardis Tour and Experience

I'm seriously considering a re-vamp of my blog over the coming months. If you have any ideas, please let me know, it would be lovely to hear them (as I'm not great at designing!)

I hope January is treating you well and you haven't given up on your resolutions just yet... I'd love to hear them! Mine is to blog more, and seeing as I have three more posts lined up for over the coming weeks, I'll have to get a move on. As always, let me know what you've been up to, and keep up to date via my twitter feed - @pluckykelly and my Plucky Kelly Facebook Page.

Blog to you soon

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