Return of the Ring and Barrow-Downs Mega-moot - Celebrating Tolkien in 2012 - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Hookbill the Goomba · 03-26-2012, 12:52 PM

Okay! Big news!!! The accommodation is booked!! (Or will be as soon as they get the booking form through the post).

We will be staying at;
The Newark and Sherwood Holiday cottage from 6th August - 19th August.

I should explain why I didn't book the bunk barn. It was becoming a massive pain in the butt, for one. They wanted a definite number of visitors for each day, which I was unable to provide seeing as we don't know if everyone will be able to go yet. Plus, we would be sharing the space with other parties at the same time; not good if we want to get up to late night shenanigans. I did offer that we had a tent for people who were outside the number of beds booked, but that was not allowed. Moreover, they said we'd be responsible for our own luggage being kept separate from other people's and they wouldn't be held responsible for any thefts. Which worried me a lot.

The holiday cottage people were nicer with me and said they're flexible with the numbers. Technically it only houses 12, but we would be free to put sleeping bags etc in the living room and elsewhere, plus the tent if needed. Moreover, we'll be on our own and can be as loud and silly as we like.

They also have some included entertainment systems, stereo system, radio, DVD player, internet access (wireless broadband) and so on. We will be in good shape, I think.

The people gave me a special discount because we're booking for two whole weeks. The full price will be £1,600, minus the £400 deposit I just paid. (Thanks to all you that donated to the deposit fund!), leaving £1,100 left to pay by the 14th of May.
I'll reboot the Indegogo Campaign once it has run its course and we can start chipping in again. I don't want anyone to feel pressured into donating more than they can afford, so we'll try and get as close as possible before the date, but anything after will still be helpful. I hope this is okay with everyone.

I know some of you were set on the bunk barns and I tried to get them, but in the end I couldn't do it. I hope this is just as good in the end. Please don't kill me!

Estelyn Telcontar · 03-26-2012, 12:59 PM

*Applause, applause, applause!!!

Thanks for going through all that work for us, Hooky!! I for one really appreciate your planning and preparation and look forward very much to coming! The cottage looks great and it will be nice to have it to ourselves. It will be fun to explore an area of England that is new to me!

Kath · 03-26-2012, 02:32 PM

Bahaha this is the one I liked anyway!

Though I now feel even worse about forgetting to send you money. *ducks* I will rectify this at the weekend when school finishes. Thank you Hook!

Lalwendë · 03-26-2012, 03:20 PM

Fantastic!!! I was very near here last Wednesday, I went over to Newark and Southwell. It's a lovely area with loads to see and Notts people are lovely. You'll have to accept everyone will call you 'Duck' and 'Flower'.

There's a very nice pub and old church in the village and it's very close to Sherwood for Ent spotting.

Street View Link

I have also done a quick look up for travel. There are two bus services in the village almost outside the cottage, the 14 (Stagecoach) which runs to Mansfield each hour and the 36 (YourBus) which runs to Retford each hour. I note, no buses on Sundays though. Retford is on the line for Kings Cross and it's a very quick trip. It's also on the line for Sheffield, Worksop and Doncaster where you can make other changes. Mansfield is on the line for Nottingham where you can change for St Pancras and Loughborough (which is 17 minutes). If anyone has travel queries I'm happy to look them up.

A Little Green · 03-27-2012, 05:19 AM

Yay! The cottage looks fantastic! Lal, we're probably coming from Liverpool, do you have any idea if it's smarter to use a train or a bus?

Aganzir · 03-27-2012, 10:01 AM

Great, thanks Hookbill! I was so keen on the bunk barn only because of a joke Bêth-b told on Facebook, but this sounds a lot better! Let me know when you need more monies.

Hookbill the Goomba · 03-27-2012, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aganzir

Great, thanks Hookbill! I was so keen on the bunk barn only because of a joke Bêth-b told on Facebook, but this sounds a lot better! Let me know when you need more monies.

Any time is good, as long as I get it before 14th of May. The Indiegogo Campaign is still open, though it only goes up to £550 at the moment because I took a guess at how much we'd need. As soon as it finishes / reaches the 'goal', I'll restart it and we can raise the rest of the money. So feel free to donate now or later, whatever suits you.

Had a thought today about getting people together. If most people are arriving on the 6th August, I suggest everyone trying to get to a near-by city like Nottingham - I think you'll be able to get there from every airport with little difficulty, though Lal will no doubt correct me if I'm wrong - and spend the day there while we gather friends before heading off to the cottage in cars / buses / whatever.

EDIT:

If you want to see more of the cottage, there's a website here;

http://www.thehomesteadnotts.co.uk/

BIG pictures and it looks very pretty and awesome.

Bêthberry · 04-08-2012, 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aganzir

Great, thanks Hookbill! I was so keen on the bunk barn only because of a joke Bêth-b told on Facebook, but this sounds a lot better! Let me know when you need more monies.

What! I made a joke! Heavens!

I think this place is also much nicer than the bunk beds. You should have lots of fun without the spartan accommodations.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oddwen

I found an airfare search engine that seems to have consistently lower prices than the main ones I have used. http://matrix.itasoftware.com/search.htm

You have to manually enter your results into another booking site....somehow. Maybe it'll help someone.

Thanks! The charter airlines are several hundreds of dollars cheaper than my regular national airline, but they don't give me much flexibility about the dates. And the good old national airline is several hundreds of dollars more expensive suddenly after May 31st. *grumbles some more*

I don't know quite how close you will be to Yorkshire, but there is a lovely little museum that is under some financial pressure due to cutbacks which has a bit of literary history to it. Some of you might be interested in it.

Red House Museum Gomersal

Lalwendë · 03-27-2012, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A Little Green

Yay! The cottage looks fantastic! Lal, we're probably coming from Liverpool, do you have any idea if it's smarter to use a train or a bus?

There's an hourly direct train to Nottingham from Liverpool Lime Street! It's the Liverpool-Norwich train and goes via Manchester and Sheffield - also known as the student train because it goes through the major student cities - so is usually packed on Fridays/Sundays! It's very regular though. If you are coming from John Lennon airport then there should be a bus service into central Liverpool.

It's a very good idea for travellers to meet up in one place and move on from there!

Nottingham has lots to do, and you've also got Lincoln, Newark and Southwell nearby which are all stunning places.

Oddwen · 03-27-2012, 06:15 PM

Quote:

The signs of historic times continue when moving upstairs with a genuine beam looming at the bottom of the stairs and is also capable of inflicting a very sore head on those who don't keep aware!

We can re-enact a popular scene from the blockbuster movie "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"! Yaaaaay!

03-26-2012, 12:52 PM	#1
Hookbill the Goomba Alive without breath Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: On A Cold Wind To Valhalla Posts: 5,912	Okay! Big news!!! The accommodation is booked!! (Or will be as soon as they get the booking form through the post). We will be staying at; The Newark and Sherwood Holiday cottage from 6th August - 19th August. I should explain why I didn't book the bunk barn. It was becoming a massive pain in the butt, for one. They wanted a definite number of visitors for each day, which I was unable to provide seeing as we don't know if everyone will be able to go yet. Plus, we would be sharing the space with other parties at the same time; not good if we want to get up to late night shenanigans. I did offer that we had a tent for people who were outside the number of beds booked, but that was not allowed. Moreover, they said we'd be responsible for our own luggage being kept separate from other people's and they wouldn't be held responsible for any thefts. Which worried me a lot. The holiday cottage people were nicer with me and said they're flexible with the numbers. Technically it only houses 12, but we would be free to put sleeping bags etc in the living room and elsewhere, plus the tent if needed. Moreover, we'll be on our own and can be as loud and silly as we like. They also have some included entertainment systems, stereo system, radio, DVD player, internet access (wireless broadband) and so on. We will be in good shape, I think. The people gave me a special discount because we're booking for two whole weeks. The full price will be £1,600, minus the £400 deposit I just paid. (Thanks to all you that donated to the deposit fund!), leaving £1,100 left to pay by the 14th of May. I'll reboot the Indegogo Campaign once it has run its course and we can start chipping in again. I don't want anyone to feel pressured into donating more than they can afford, so we'll try and get as close as possible before the date, but anything after will still be helpful. I hope this is okay with everyone. I know some of you were set on the bunk barns and I tried to get them, but in the end I couldn't do it. I hope this is just as good in the end. Please don't kill me! __________________ I think that if you want facts, then The Downer Newspaper is probably the place to go. I know! I read it once. THE PHANTOM AND ALIEN: The Legend of the Golden Bus Ticket...

03-26-2012, 12:59 PM	#2
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	Applause, applause, applause!!! Thanks for going through all that work for us, Hooky*!! I for one really appreciate your planning and preparation and look forward very much to coming! The cottage looks great and it will be nice to have it to ourselves. It will be fun to explore an area of England that is new to me! __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

03-26-2012, 02:32 PM	#3
Kath Everlasting Whiteness Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Perusing the laminated book of dreams Posts: 4,533	Bahaha this is the one I liked anyway! Though I now feel even worse about forgetting to send you money. ducks I will rectify this at the weekend when school finishes. Thank you Hook! __________________ “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

03-26-2012, 03:20 PM	#4
Lalwendë A Mere Boggart Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: under the bed Posts: 4,737	Fantastic!!! I was very near here last Wednesday, I went over to Newark and Southwell. It's a lovely area with loads to see and Notts people are lovely. You'll have to accept everyone will call you 'Duck' and 'Flower'. There's a very nice pub and old church in the village and it's very close to Sherwood for Ent spotting. Street View Link I have also done a quick look up for travel. There are two bus services in the village almost outside the cottage, the 14 (Stagecoach) which runs to Mansfield each hour and the 36 (YourBus) which runs to Retford each hour. I note, no buses on Sundays though. Retford is on the line for Kings Cross and it's a very quick trip. It's also on the line for Sheffield, Worksop and Doncaster where you can make other changes. Mansfield is on the line for Nottingham where you can change for St Pancras and Loughborough (which is 17 minutes). If anyone has travel queries I'm happy to look them up. __________________ Gordon's alive! Last edited by Lalwendë; 03-26-2012 at 03:48 PM.

03-27-2012, 05:19 AM	#5
A Little Green Leaf-clad Lady Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,571	Yay! The cottage looks fantastic! Lal, we're probably coming from Liverpool, do you have any idea if it's smarter to use a train or a bus? __________________ "But some stories, small, simple ones about setting out on adventures or people doing wonders, tales of miracles and monsters, have outlasted all the people who told them, and some of them have outlasted the lands in which they were created."

03-27-2012, 10:01 AM	#6
Aganzir Woman of Secret Shadow Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: in hollow halls beneath the fells Posts: 4,511	Great, thanks Hookbill! I was so keen on the bunk barn only because of a joke Bêth-b told on Facebook, but this sounds a lot better! Let me know when you need more monies. __________________ He bit me, and I was not gentle.