Abstract
It is well-known that two trips to the Cheddar Gorge Caves formed the basis for the “Glittering Caves of Aglarond” found in Helm’s Deep and described in The Two Towers. Tolkien explained a 1971 letter how that “the passage was based on the caves in Cheddar Gorge and was written just after I had revisited these in 1940 but was still coloured by my memory of them much earlier before they became so commercialized. I had been there during my honeymoon nearly thirty years before.” In April 1940, the Tolkiens and their three youngest children took an extended holiday to Weston-super-Mare, near Clevedon, and again visited Cheddar Gorge, which Tolkien then found “so commercialized” as compared to his first visit. Tolkien’s words paint a picture of disappointment and disapproval over what had been done to a natural wonder that he had obviously looked forward to sharing with his children. Given renovations to the caves, including what Tolkien lamented as their commercialization, it was not possible to truly view them today as he would have, especially as he did in 1916. But by comparing newspaper articles, scientific reports, images, and other media from circa 1916 and 1940 we carefully reconstruct what we might call the Disneyfication of Cheddar Caves in Tolkien’s lifetime, and understand why he would have vehemently warned against such an atrocity in his Secondary World. We also explore how Gimli might have been able to keep his word to Legolas and prevented the Disneyfication of Aglarond in turn.
Recommended Citation
Larsen, Kristine
(2026)
"“And when we wished we would drive away the night”: Preventing the Disneyfication of Aglarond,"
Journal of Tolkien Research: Vol. 24:
Iss.
3, Article 2.
Available at:
https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol24/iss3/2