merlinlocations | Pontsticill Reservoir (Reply)

It had long been my wish to work out where the lake was, in which the Isle of the Blessed was placed for episode 113 Le Morte d'Arthur. Raglan Castle stood in for the Isle itself, but as the castle is on dry land (except for the moat!) the surrounding lake was obviously provided by a different location. The redoubtable

pakafe managed to track down this location: it is the Pontsticill Reservoir near Merthyr Tydfil, north of Cardiff. This solved a second mystery at the same time, because the Reservoir had been mentioned in an early media report as a filming location, but we hadn't known for what.

how it's used in Merlin

The Reservoir provided the place where Merlin and Gaius each find the jetty and the magic boat that takes them to the Isle. The jetty itself looks so solid and established that I had assumed it existed in the real world as well as the Merlin 'verse. Not so! They actually built it for use in the show, and dismantled it afterwards. I assume the Reservoir also provides the establishing shots of the lake and the Isle (with CGI mountains, because otherwise it looks like the right terrain), but I haven't confirmed this for sure.

Marine Film Services Limited helped out with the filming, moving the boat using an underwater pulley system 'for that magical glide'. There is a photo at their website here.

Warning: This post is quite image-intense.

the place itself

Pontsticill Reservoir dates back to 1927, and provides water for 'industry and population' to the south. There is also a smaller, older reservoir just to the north, called Pentwyn or Dol-y-gaer Reservoir. The Taff Trail runs along the west side of the Reservoir, and the steam Brecon Mountain Railway runs up the east side, with the Merthyr Tydfil sailing club based on the east shore as well. Apparently there's also good fishing to be had there!

Filming took place just by the picnic area on the west shore, not quite halfway up the length of the Reservoir, just down from the Llyngeren farm. There's a stile to clamber over, and you're pretty much right there. There was a fair bit of rubbish around when I visited, alas, not to mention an orange safety flotation device just where Merlin would have dismounted - but on the plus side the water level was down so I got to stand on the dry land where the boat had actually been!

picspam

Image snagged from Google Maps, with an arrow indicating the picnic area.

Screencap showing an establishing shot of the lake with the Isle of the Blessed. Other than the CGI mountains, the landscape looks pretty much like that around the Reservoir, I assume taken from the north looking south. This screencap by wherethewind; the rest are by me.

The stile, and beyond it the filming location, from the car park. As you drive in, the stile is in the far right corner. Alas, my camera died, so these were taken with my BlackBerry.

A 'scenic view' of the Reservoir, once you're over the stile.

One of our lovelier publicity shots. Which of course belongs to BBC/Shine, and is used with respect but without permission. They built this jetty just for Merlin! (Urgh, save me from bursting into song...)

My rather less magical shot of the same location. Luckily for me, the water level was quite low.

Me being a bit clever with the overlay thing...

Another lovely publicity shot.

The overlay thing again... and yes, I did sit there, too! You'll see the stile, the car park and our Ford Focus in the background - the filming took place in such a small area, with modernity just a few steps away.

A screencap of Merlin and the horse he rode in on.

The overlay thing. Now I can't quite remember, but there was a bit of a path down the bank where I was standing, so I was kind of halfway up from the shore - I was definitely looking inland! - but it's all within that rather small area, and it's fairly obvious when you get there.

A screencap of when Merlin first sees the boat.

Again, it all looks rather less magical without a smoke machine around! Also, the tree has obviously had some serious pruning done recently, and there is new growth. It will look quite different soon, I think.

And with the overlay, though I had to tilt it to get the angles right. This is trickier than it ever seems at the time!

Merlin dismounts.

This is looking north along the shoreline. As pakafe noted, the 'golden stump' to the left of the horse is almost all worn and splintered away now, so there goes a landmark!

Mmm... Merlin... {sighs} Um, OK. Trying to ignore the distraction of this delicious young man, here is Merlin leaving the shore in the magic boat. Note the steps behind his left shoulder.

And I actually got to stand out there on the dry shore to take a corresponding photo.

And I think we're done!

links and details

The address is: Pontsticill Reservoir, near Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, CF48.

tags and rating

I very much enjoyed visiting this site, and I love the significance of it in the show. Also, I love it for the fact it's one of the rare locations where Richard would have filmed as well as Colin. Still, I don't suppose the Reservoir is really worth more than three pointy hats, though I want to give it more. Maybe if they make more use of it later...?

And for my next report, I'll be covering the undercroft at Neath Abbey!