Hobbiton's Green Dragon tipped for pulling pints

BRUCE MERCER/Fairfax NZ

HOME SWEET HOME: The Green Dragon pub is among buildings at Hobbiton that will remain for tourists.

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Swigging a pint of Middle Earth's finest may soon be possible in the holy grail of Hobbit drinking holes, The Green Dragon.

Professional blogger Eric Vespe, who was invited by Sir Peter Jackson to blog from The Hobbit set, has let slip that of all the Hobbit holes in the Hobbiton set near Matamata, The Green Dragon was the one with the most potential.

"Forty-four Hobbit holes were built to be permanent, with retaining walls, waterproofed roofs etc," Mr Vespe, who used the pseudonym "Quint", wrote on his in his latest blog on the movie news website aintitcool.com.

"The Green Dragon is the most impressive of them all because it was built with a functioning fireplace, plumbing, water pipes and the works."

Mr Vespe wrote that production designer Dan Hennah said the plans were actually to turn the famous Shire inn into a real, working pub.

But he said: "That's all on the landowner at this point, I believe."

Ian Brodie, media and communications manager for Hobbiton Movie Set and Farm Tours, was unable to comment on the possibility. "I can't comment," he said over and over again.

Matamata Public Relations Association manager Sue Whiting was also unable to comment on the prospect of The Green Dragon opening for business, but said none of the tourists who had visited Hobbiton since it reopened to the public on November 8 had mentioned having a drink there.

However, Ms Whiting said the number of people visiting Hobbiton was back near the record numbers experienced when interest in the set peaked following the Lord of the Rings filming.

"They're all back," she said. "The numbers have increased dramatically."

Ms Whiting said six tours of varied sizes went to the farm daily, and there had been a mix of first-time and return visitors, as well as a mix of Kiwis and international visitors.

"They're all absolutely thrilled by it. They're just blown away."

Ceris Price, the publicist for The Hobbit's production company, 3 Foot 7, could not be reached for comment on The Green Dragon.

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