The Best Days Out for Film Nerds
With winter finally showing signs of relinquishing its icy grip, it’s time to get outside and breathe in that fresh spring air. Of course, film nerdiness does involve a lot of sitting in darkened rooms, shovelling handfuls of popcorn in the vague direction of your mouth and shunning the contact of all fellow humans who aren’t comfortable with the phrase ‘movie marathon’… but it doesn’t have to be confined entirely to that.
There are a handful of fantastic attractions, parks and tours across the UK designed to pander to the delights of the movie buff and satiate their thirst for trivia and behind-the-scenes sneak peeks. So brush those crumbs off your chest, wipe the sleep from your eyes and get out and about and sample one of these three great days out for film nerds.
Star Wars Miniland Experience
Hankering for simpler times? Well, now you can combine a nostalgic revisit to your childhood with an in-depth experience in a galaxy far, far away by visiting Legoland in Windsor, Berkshire. As of 2012, the park has incorporated an immersive Star Wars installation featuring such iconic landmarks as the planets of Naboo and Tatooine and the Forest Moon of Endor. In all, the exhibition makes use of over 1.5 million Lego bricks, lovingly crafted by dozens of skilled model architects and builders, to engineer some of the most famous scenes from the films for your pleasure. The scenes are brought to life by the use of SFX, lighting and action sequences so familiar to so many fans.
The Making of Harry Potter
As something like the 21st century equivalent of the cult classic Star Wars, Harry Potter has won over millions of Muggle fans from all over the globe. Located right next to the film studios where the movies were created, the Warner Bros Studio Tour allows Potter enthusiasts to roam around soundstages and backlots filled to the brim with props, costumes, sets and animatronic creations which were actually used in production. Among other activities, visitors can try their hand at flying a broomstick, taste the delicious flavours of Butterbeer ice-cream and fill out their very own complimentary Harry Potter passport. For fans of either the books or the films, this tour is absolutely unmissable.
James Bond Tour of London
Fans of the world’s smoothest secret agent will delight in these tours of all things 007. With options to either walk or travel by bus, Brit Movie Tours cater to Bond aficionados of all ages and abilities by taking in memorable locations from movies such as Die Another Day, Skyfall and the latest release, Spectre. For those really wishing to get into the spirit of MI6, there’s even the option to fly over the city in a helicopter tour! As well as highlighting where key scenes were filmed and offering amusing anecdotes from the cast and crew, the tours also provide an insight into the inner workings of the real British secret service. As such, those who take the tour can be treated to inside knowledge of where fiction and reality overlap, allowing you to understand exactly what it is about Martinis that are so attractive to secret agents!
