Northumberland view of Edlingham Castle and Simonside Hills features on The Hobbit film poster

The backdrop is the view from Corby Crag, above Alnwick. The shot on the image looks west towards Edlingham Castle and the Simonside Hills. The old Alnwick to Wooler railway viaduct can clearly be seen in The Hobbit artwork, as well as the Castle’s ruined keep. Phil checked out the view and said to the Northumberland Gazette: “When I saw the poster, I immediately thought it looked familiar to Edlingham Castle. I didn’t think any more about it until I picked up this month’s copy of Total Film, which had an A3-sized poster of the image inside. “The level of detail in such a large version of the picture piqued my curiosity and I dived onto my computer to hunt for a picture I’d taken of the castle a couple of summers ago to see if my hunch was correct. “I was stunned when it matched up perfectly – even the field boundaries immediately around the castle were the same in the poster as in real life. “Quite why they chose to base the image on Edlingham Castle is anyone’s guess, but it’s funny to think that a little bit of Northumberland will forever be Middle Earth.” Peter Jackson directed the smash-hit Lord of the Rings trilogy and will release  first part of his eagerly-anticipated prequel in December 2012.  The UK release date is Dec. 14, 2012.