A day at the movies…The Downton Abbey movie…No spoilers…

In August 2014, we held our breath as we approached Highclare Castle, home of the famed BBC Downton Abbey TV series. No interior photos were allowed.

Fascinating Fact of the Day About Wadebridge: “Wadebridge is a popular town in north Cornwall, very well situated for visitors intending to walk the Camel Trail. The most notable historical building in Wadebridge is not a building. It’s the remarkable Old Bridge built by Reverend Thomas Lovibond in 1460. The bridge stretches 320 feet across the Camel, with a total of 17 arches supporting it.”

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The poster for the movie.

With numerous trailers shown online and promoted throughout England, we thought it would be befitting for us to go to the movies to see yesterday’s first release of the classic movie TV show Downton Abbey.

The Towne Centre in Wakebridge.

While living in many countries throughout the world, we’ll find a movie made locally and make a point of downloading and watching it, including those with subtitles.  

It was captured on a walk on the boulevard.

Primarily, our objective is to see authentic scenes of places we may like to visit while there or to get a greater understanding of history and culture. Many well-made movies seem capable of accomplishing this to some degree.

The 89-year-old Regal Cinema in downtown Wakebridgde.

Having watched all 52 episodes of Downton Abbey over six seasons, all of which were since we began traveling the world. An attack would air, and a few days later, we could download it, saving it to our hard drive and watching it at our convenience, always in the evenings after dinner, as a special treat.

The cost for one adult ticket is GBP 7.30, US $9.13, about the same price or slightly less than in the US from what we recall.

The series was so inspiring in 2014, we booked a tour to the filming location for the series, the Highclere Castle, which is shown today as our main photo, which we’d taken on that particular day. Click here to see our post from August 21, 2014.

The concession stand.  There wasn’t anything I could order, as usual.

When we’d heard so much about the movie being released, we thought it would be a treat to see it on its opening day while in England on Friday, September 13, 2019. (The US and other country’s releases are on September 20, 2019, one week later).

Tom purchased a bottle of soda and popcorn, as shown below.

We searched online to see if there was a movie theatre in this part of Cornwall where we could see the movie. The Regal Theatre in Wadebridge, a 30-minute drive which was the most convenient location. 

The 89-year-old movie theatre was a site to see in itself with a bit of its history as follows:
The Regal, situated at the end of The Platt in Wadebridge Cornwall, was built by the Pope family of Padstow and opened its doors for the first time in January 1931. Several local owners operated the cinema under its initial name of the “Cinedrome.”

Our view of the screen from our good seats.
When we arrived an hour earlier than the start of the movie to ensure we’d get tickets and good seats to find the ticket office closed until 1:30 pm, we wandered about the cozy village, packed with tourists and locals.  
 
As it turned out, we were the first to buy tickets and find great seats, smack dab in the middle several rows back from the screen.  In no time at all, move moviegoers arrived but hardly filled in the good-sized theatre. We’d expected the 2 pm matinee would attract a number of the locals, but it didn’t.
Tom had to order his popcorn in a  bag.  The only freshly popped corn they had was “sweet popcorn,” which he doesn’t like.  The only unsweetened popcorn offered is in a bag, as shown.
Need I say, we loved the movie and giggled over having seen the magnificent castle on the big screen, five years later from our face-to-face viewing. We won’t share any details about the movie.  All we can say is if you liked the TV series, most likely you’ll enjoy the movie as well.
When we left the theatre, we walked past a creek with ducks.
After the movie ended, we walked the short distance to the Co-Op Supermarket to shop for the final upcoming week in St. Teath, Cornwall. We leave here in six days and have loved every moment in this scenic part of the country. Cornwall has genuinely pleased and surprised us.
 
May your Saturday be as pleasant as ours, on a sunny day in the countryside.

Photo from one year ago today, September 14, 2018:

This a white-crested seedeater.  For more photos, please click here.