Or, if you fancy bringing your own lunch, there are plenty of picnic benches and places to sit around the lakeside for a picnic!

No, not Ruritania in the nineteenth century, but the United Kingdom in the twenty-first. My new book is both a sequel to and a contemporary inversion of Anthony Hope's classic of 1894, The Prisoner of Zenda. In the original, an English gentleman on vacation is called upon to stand in for his lookalike, the King of Ruritania, at his coronation. Over a century later, a Ruritanian on vacation in London is called upon to return the favour and stand in for an Englishman in an absurd fantastical kingdom where Brexit never quite happened... But, the Highlands of Scotland do have one annoying thing that we don’t usually see in the south…midges! I was delighted by the reaction of Steyn Clubbers to this audio entertainment. Nancy Hawkes wrote from Virginia: This great royal lake had its humble beginning as a small stream in the 17th-century and it’s thought that it got its name from the Virgin Queen Elizabeth I. Then, you can make your way around to the Cascade and the Roman Ruins as nearly all of the scenes were filmed around here.

I mean, where are all the mountains and all the mysterious islands that make it look, well…magical?! Steyn has a great handle on the adventure style of the late nineteenth century—and in the form of people like Anthony Hope and Alexander Dumas, who knew how to make their wordy texts both compelling and fast-moving despite the wordiness. Updating such a style for modern readers is very difficult to do, but also very rewarding, both for the writer and the reader, as I learned in The Dream of Poor Bazin. It has one foot for every year of the centenary of British Columbia which was named by Queen Victoria in 1858! If you were looking for somewhere to eat at Virginia Water Lake then your main option is the Virginia Water Café by the main car park and the takeaway stand just outside of it. Also, this is the location where Hermione gives a rather satisfying punch to the face to Draco Malfoy in the Sundial Garden!

Thank you, Nancy. No sooner had the audio book wrapped up than we had many queries about whether I would be committing it to hard covers. Well, yes, I will. I don't account it a work of genius, but the "Doctor Davos" character medicating (and over-medicating) national leaders seems to be pretty prescient about where our world is headed. I was delighted by the reaction of Mark Steyn Club members to the audio version. Nancy Hawkes wrote from Virginia:London also has many filming locations including Leadenhall Market as The Leaky Cauldron and Kings Cross Station for Platform 9 3/4’s. Cecil Court and Goodwin’s Court are thought to be inspirations for Diagon Alley. I'm disappointed that this is not available as a printed book. After listening to it, there's clearly a lot to be gleaned from reading it leisurely rather than listening to it... The deposed [actually dispossessed] king of Ruritania acquires an invite to the coronation of the next king of England (Arthur, of course) and finds himself lost in an England where Ruritanian content farmers control the plumbing market. Or at least, where everyone thinks Ruritanian content farmers are the new Jews, and Ruritanian plumbers are doing the jobs English plumbers won't do. There is a Virginia Water Lake Pavilion cafe that is right by the front entrance of the main car park. They serve up light refreshments and drinks throughout the day.

and the chance to support our print, audio and video ventures as they wing their way around the planet. There are many places that you can visit aside from chasing Virginia Water Harry Potter filming locations! Once Harry has bowed to the proud creature and gains his trust, Hagrid unceremoniously shoves Harry on top of him and they take a ride around Hogwarts Great Lake! It may surprise you to know that there is a Virginia Water Harry Potter connection. But, it’s true and this amazing parkland was used to film parts of Hogwarts Lake!The lake is man-made and was begun by William, Duke of Cumberland in 1746. He was a ranger at the park and had his own regiment. It was much smaller than the one we see today but it was destroyed in a flood in 1768.