A few days ago I got back from London. It was a great trip; I really love that city (and I'm from San Francisco, so that's saying something).
One of my geekier sub-trips was a day trip out to Cardiff, Wales, where a lot of Doctor Who is filmed. Wales is beautiful, and I can't wait to go back. I saw the area where Torchwood Headquarters is, and the Doctor Who Experience (which is surprisingly awesome). I also got it into my head that I wanted to see Amy’s duck pond.
For those of you who don't know, the first episode of the fifth season of the new Doctor Who introduced a new companion Amy Pond, played by Karen Gillan. In the first episode, there was a short exchange between The Doctor and Amy about a small pond in her home town of Leadworth. The pond had no ducks, but Amy insisted it was a duck pond.
A little googling turned up the filming location, a place known as Cathedral Green in Cardiff. So, I took a bus out there to check it out. It's much smaller in person than it appears to be on TV. The duck pond doesn't actually exist. Its location is a parking lot, and the pond itself was created for the episode in a corner of the lot. A number of other elements aren't there, either (the phone booth, the mailbox at the post office, etc.). Here are a few screen caps from the episode, and some of the photos I took while there (you can click on my images for a larger version).
On my way to Cardiff (via train; I love trains!), I met a woman from Texas who was also going because she was a big Doctor Who fan. Like me, she thought visiting Amy’s pond was cooler than expected.
Walking from Amy's house.
My photo of the path from Amy's house.
Walking from Mrs. Angelo's house.
My photos of the road and the stone arch behind them.
Amy's duck pond!
A long shot in the direction the actors are walking.
The corner of the lot where they built the pond.
Me standing where the pond was.
More shots from the episode.
More photos from my visit.
For completeness, here are a few more photos from my visit to Cardiff:
Daleks this way.
Eleventh Doctor’s TARDIS.
Season five costumes.
Eleventh Doctor’s costume.
Amelia Pond’s costume.
Kissogram Amy’s costume.
Amy Pond’s costume (one of many).
The Doctor’s and Melody Pond’s cradle.
River Song’s costume.
The Face of Boe.
Daleks.
Weeping Angel.
Silence (sorry you’ll forget about this one).
Oswin Oswald’s costume.
Oswin as Dalek.
Clara’s Book, 101 Places to See.
Torchwood HQ.