A superfan of The Lord of the Rings has been inspired by Rivendell to create one home to rule them all. He has decked out a van on Dartmoor, a National Park in the south of England, in intricate wood carvings, dragons, maps and other items inspired by Middle-earth. He has named the van Radagast – the guardian of the woods – portrayed by Sylvester McCoy in The Hobbit movies.
Glen Michael Herbert is an artist and woodcarver who has taken major inspiration from The Lord of the Rings to create a unique home in a setting that could be Fangorn. “I was drawn to this life as I’d always wanted to be a guardian of a woodland,” he explained. Herbert has clearly watched all of The Lord of the Rings movies in order countless times, and he has made some deep cuts with his inspiration.
With his long, curly grey hair and beard, Herbert would fit right in amongst The Lord of the Rings cast. One of the scenes inside the van depicts a dragon being recreated, his wings spread as he is reborn from a tree.
“I didn’t intend to have a life on the road, even though I do travel,” Herbert explained to Jam Press (via NY Post). He had initially intended to sell the van, but “fell in love” with the wood carvings and decided to keep it. Even though dragons aren’t that prominent in The Lord of the Rings – with Smaug in The Hobbit movies being the most famous example – they are clearly Herbert’s favorite Lord of the Rings characters.
Herbert has even made a dragon toilet paper holder for his van and the beautiful kitchen is certainly worthy of making second breakfasts galore. The bedroom certainly looks like a cozy place to recover from a trip to Mount Doom and back. There does seem to be elements from some of the other best fantasy movies and series such as Game of Thrones included in the van too.
Perhaps if we ever get a new Lord of the Rings movie, the hobbits can go on an adventure in the comfort and style of Herbert’s van and rest those hairy hobbit feet. You can see more of Herbert’s work on his Art of Spellbound Instagram account.
We’re very much looking forward to seeing Lord of the Rings War of Rohirrim and Rings of Power season 2, to see more of the stunning production design and art direction that inspired Herbert’s van. While we wait for those, we’ll contend ourselves with House of the Dragon season 2 – which is likely to come along first.