Visiting Labyrinth Bridge: Daytrip to West Wycombe Park (where they filmed the opening scene of the movie)

I've been a huge fan of the Jim Henson movie Labyrinth (1986) for many years and actively follow 'fan' related stuff on the internet. Last year through social media I heard it was possible to visit the location of where they shot the opening scene of the film and I knew immediately that I had to make a fan pilgrimage there. I finally chose Sunday...

In the opening scene, the lead character Sarah, played by Jennifer Connelly is seen reciting a passage from a book called Labyrinth. But then the clock strikes, the heavens pour open and she realises she is late to babysit her brother, so she runs over a bridge in a park, in the rain, and then continues to run home. 

This is the bridge in question: a still taken from the film...(circa 1986/85)

And this is it now, in 2015...located in West Wycombe Park.

West Wycombe Park is located just outside of London. I caught a train from London Marylebone to High Wycombe and then walked 2.9 miles to get to the park. There are buses that go there (but only 3 a day on a Sunday) it's advisable to drive but as the sun was out, a stroll there seemed like a good idea, even if it did end up taking an hour. The park are the grounds of a manor house which is still lived in by a family. Finding The Bridge was not as easy as I had expected - there are in fact many bridges in the park. I walked around it twice inspecting every bridge from different angles until I finally worked out which one it was.

See what I mean - there were many beautiful bridges at the park...

In the end my companion Worm, (a character who appears in the movie) spotted the exact location.

The original worm from the movie

As I knew I was on a mission to find The Labyrinth Bridge I wore my special owl dress which represents the male lead in the film The Goblin Kind, Jareth, played by David Bowie - whose character often disguises himself as an owl.

David Bowie & Jennifer Connelly in character

I videoed myself running across the bridge too in true Fan style! 

The rest of the park is Stunning. Visitors can either pay to only visit the gardens or the house and the gardens. I paid £5 for the grounds only. Sitting in this park is the perfect way to spend a free afternoon. You're not allowed to picnic here but just sitting down and taking in the epic views is enough to revive, refresh and de-stress you. The park is a good size, not too overwhelming. 

I sat back and watched swans and ducks, this handsome one caught my eye as I had not seen this variety before and there was only one. 

The park is only open 2pm-6pm and it's possible to spend all four hours there simply taking it all in. I love parks, I go to them at every given opportunity and am blessed to have so many great parks in London, but I have never been to a park like this before. It truly does have a magical feel to it, an air of fantasy and a little taste of what heaven must be like.

Here are the opening hours - they are sadly very limited but then it is someone's home so I guess they like to keep it to themselves too.

Just across from the park is West Wycombe's Hell-Fire caves, I didn't get a chance to visit them on this trip but if you follow the signs up a hill you can look down and get great views of the park (you can just about see the house in the distance.)

The house doesn't have a tea room but there a couple in the village just outside the park. I chose to have mine at West Wycombe Community library - which is the finest public library I've ever seen. Outside are chairs and tables to eat tea alfresco, while inside is a wonderful public library with sofas, surrounded by handmade items for sale.

I bought thus cushion which was made by one of the librarians, she was very sad to see it go but I promised to give it a good home.

I timed my visit to get the last bus of the day back into town which left at exactly 18.14 on the dot. While we were waiting, Worm made himself a friend; a giant snail. I think we'll need to come back again so they can visit eachother.

Never watched Labyrinth? A few years ago it was really hard to do so. I spent six years on a waiting list to get hold of a VHS copy (no really!!!) but now it's easily obtainable on DVD is regularly shown at cinemas and is also on You Tube. (It's up to you if you choose to watch it for free, but what I would say is if you watch the first couple of minutes you can at least see the shot I'm talking about!)

Thanks:
The following people inspired me to go on this pilgrimage
LabyrinthWiki, Anthony & The Trevi Owl.

Like Father Like Daughter: films me and my dad used to watch together

Those who have known me a long time know I am obsessed with James Bond. I'm not talking about my DVD collection either; I have the books, t-shirt, doll and nickname to boot. There isn't a moment in my life when this Bond fascination came into being, I was born into it. As a child I watched every single Bond film on the telly with my dad.
Generally we didn't talk much but we did watch a lot of movies and TV together. In his final few years (today marks the 5th anniversary of his death) I spent huge amounts of time with him in front of the telly. We didn't need to talk. Just being in the same room and sharing that activity was our bond. It got me thinking about some of the iconic films I watched with him...

1. The 10 Commandments

A family classic, we had this recorded from the TV on a VHS. Ridiculously epic it took a full day to watch this movie with breaks in between but my dad thought of it as one of the most important films ever made. Although it's biblical in nature, my parents always translated the biblical versions of events into the Islamic ones - the stories and morals were always the same just the names were different. The scene where Moses makes the sea split is an image that has long stayed with me.
2. The Great Escape





This film fascinated me and my dad. I don't recall him having much interest in any other war films but this story was so remarkable I just remember him being captivated by it. Many, many years later he was so proud of the fact Richard Attenborough shook my hand and gave me my degree at my university graduation. 

3. The Poseiden Adventure

One of those films you don't need to know the language  to understand, this was one of those flicks that probably appealed to most people - it was simple yet shocking. In later years this film dated terribly and fit perfectly onto the schedule of Channel 5 which specialised in showing easy films for foreign viewers - my dad being a regular member of this audience.
4. Indian Jones & The Temple Of Doom

I used to know every single line of this movie. My parents would call me every time it was on the telly as they knew how much I loved it. I still do. My dad would often say how ridiculous it was (especially the heart extraction scenes) but he was still glued to it.

5. Edward Scissorhands 

By the time this film came out I was quite a bit older and at the stage where viewing telly with your parents became uncomfortable but much to my amusement, both my parents took to this film which was insane considering it's probably the most quirky thing they ever watched. It fascinated my dad to the point I think he thought it was a 'real' possibility rather than a fantasy. 

6. Westerns
Every Saturday afternoon was about Westerns. I hated them. They were so dull. Then during A'Level Media Studies I did a project on Westerns and I suddenly began to understand and appreciate them. This made watching them with my dad so much easier though to be fair, I never watched a whole film with him. Watching a Western was private time for him. Even my mum didn't get much look in when a Western was on.

7. Satyajit Rai movies
When  my dad and I went to stay with my sister a few years a go, in the evenings my dad sat through the Apu trilogy and I've never seen him so content. Despite my passion he had zero interest in Bollywood but a massive appreciation for the old Bengali films in black and white as they depicted scenarios he was much more familiar with i.e. rural life. 

Come to think of it I never think about the fact her grew up as a village boy, in a completely rural environment in Bangladesh and then swapped it for being a Londoner. He didn't have any references for back home, no photos or videos, so I guess seeing familiar images in the movies must have brought back memories, as has writing this post for me. 

More about my dad on anniversary blogs: 2013, 2012 & 2011