The Rangers of the North, a Tolkien Society smial*, are holding a moot** to visit the "Magic of Middle-earth" exhibition at the Atkinson, Southport on Saturday 16th August 2025. We hope to see current Rangers and new ones too! All are welcome, we are an inclusive*** social group.
📆 Proposed itinerary
I've created a suggested itinerary for on the day which the Rangers may (or may not) follow. Sometimes moots are like herding cats. The details may (and likely will) change on the day, depending on members' needs and interests. Cautious disclaimers 😄
🍳 9.30am: Coffee/tea or breakfast at Pippins (Chapel Street, Southport). Moot host Rana**** (aka Tim) will
🍳 10.30am: Second Breakfast aka the Fellowship forms! This is the official moot start. Please meet outside the Atkinson, Lord Street. Be prompt, a wizard may be never late, but this Company waits for no Hobbit chasing after handkerchiefs!
🍳 11am: Elevenses! The Atkinson host Tolkien Society CEO Shaun Gunner for a talk about "Tolkien: The Father of Modern Fantasy" in the Studio (1st floor, the Atkinson).
🍳 12pm: Main course! Time for the Fellowship to explore the "Magic of Middle-earth" exhibition in the galleries (1st floor, the Atkinson).
🍳 1pm: Lunch! We have a number of choices - Southport Market has multiple vendors. We can go to HARP Coffee and Games or even Pippins Coffee House again.
🍳 2pm-ish: Adventure! We now have time to follow the Southport Tolkien Trail, visiting the shops that make up the route.
At journey's end, we can retire to the Tap & Bottle, Cambridge Walks.
I created two handy infographic advert pages for the moot, you can find them below. Please click on them for the full size!
(Please click photo for full-sized images)
Photos for the infographics are from the Southport Hookers' Lord of the Rings post box topper which was in Banks, north of Southport, for a short while in July 2025. I visited it on 26 June 2025. I'll do another blog post about the post box topper in the near future.
The map was hand-drawn by me and later digitally manipulated in Photoshop. I've used this for Rangers of the North newsletters and other promotional material.
I've also created a handy moot map for people to navigate Southport themselves. I've included the locations of the Southport Tolkien Trail created by Nick from HARP Coffee and Games.
(Please click for full-sized image)
The locations on the map are as follows:
📌 The Southport Tolkien Trail1. The Atkinson
📌 Points of interest1. The Atkinson2. Waterstones4. Southport Pier (temporarily closed)5. Ocean Plaza6. Southport Pleasureland (now Adventure Coast Southport)9. Swan boats (Southport Marine Lake)10. King’s Gardens12. Wayfarers Arcade
📌 Food and Drink5. Lakeside Inn
If you are looking for other places to get your seaside fish and chips, there are several restaurants and takeaways on Neville Street (near #7 on the Southport Tolkien Trail list). Great Reads on Lord Street has been getting Tolkien books in, they have some nice discounts on books such as John Garth's "Tolkien and the Great War"!
Note this weekend is the Southport Flower Show!
Note this weekend is the Southport Flower Show!
📌 Quick Links
📝 Notes
* A Hobbit hole (dwelling) in Tolkien lore. Smials in the Tolkien Society are locally-organised groups run by members. You don't need to be a member to attend Smial moots.
** A moot is a gathering of Hobbits in Tolkien lore.
*** We strive to be a welcoming and inclusive space. We, like the Tolkien Society, support the various communities of fans. We are a safe space to the LGBTQ+ community. We welcome fans whichever route they come to Tolkien - from the books/audiobooks, adaptions (including Rings of Power!) or any other path to fandom. Our aim is to encourage discourse about the life & works of J.R.R Tolkien, promote learning and celebrate his fandom.
**** In Tolkien lore Rána is the Elvish name for the Moon, known as "The Wanderer", which is funny because I am also a Bolton.
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