Events
Springmoot and AGM 2022
8 – 10 April 2022
Back to events feed Mercure Exeter Rougemont Hotel
Mercure Exeter Rougemont Hotel

Springmoot 2022 will be held at the Mercure Exeter Rougemont Hotel in Exeter from Friday 8th until Sunday 10th April 2022, with The Tolkien Society AGM and Annual Dinner on Saturday 9th April.

About the weekend

Springmoot is held each April on the weekend of The Tolkien Society’s Annual General Meeting. This year, it is being held in Exeter for the first time.

The weekend will begin with an Innmoot at The Mill on the Exe (Bonhay Road, Exeter, EX4 3AB) from 19:00 until 23:00. Food is available at the pub; pre-order arrangements pending but you can check out their Menu.

The AGM itself will start at 15:00 on the Saturday afternoon, and may only be attended by members of The Tolkien Society.

The semi-formal Annual Dinner will be held later that evening at 19:00 for 19:30. While there is no formal dress code for the Annual Dinner, many of the members attending chose to wear formal attire up to and including Black Tie. Nick Groom will be our Guest Speaker.

Annual Dinner bookings

Bookings for the Annual Dinner are now open

The dinner costs £35 per person.

For all booking queries, please contact the Bookings Officer.

Bookings will close 28 March.

By booking for the Annual Dinner you agree to the events terms and conditions.

About Exeter

Exeter is the ‘county town’ of Devon on the River Exe and it has a 2,000 year history, pre-dating the arrival of the Romans in AD 50. The modern name of Exeter is a development of the Old English Escanceaster. There is plenty to see for the weekend visitor from the Roman era City Walls, the Gothic Cathedral, the Norman Exeter Castle, to the Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery with its displays of fine art and costumes.

Those of a more dwarvish bent may fancy the vaulted, medieval Underground Passages which snake beneath the city and are open for tours. The 10th century Exeter Book, an anthology of Anglo Saxon poetry and riddles, is conserved in the vaults of Exeter Cathedral; it is one of four manuscripts that between them encompass all surviving Old English poetry. A selection of the aforementioned riddles are inscribed on Michael Fairfax’s 6.5m tall steel obelisk on Exeter’s High Street.

Exeter is also not far from Sidmouth where Tolkien would take his family to holiday in the late 1930s so if driving you may wish to pop over or on the way, or you may stop off at Cheddar Gorge, Tolkien’s inspiration for the Glittering Caves.

The venue

The Annual General Meeting and Annual Dinner will be held at the Mercure Exeter Rougemont Hotel, Queen Street, Exeter, EX4 3SP.

Accommodation bookings should be made directly with the hotel via their own website, or using your favourite hotel booking app. There is no specific rate for the Tolkien Society Event.

Alternative Accommodation

How to get there

By train

Exeter is mostly served by Great Western Rail and South Western Railway.

For travelling from London and beyond, there are two options:

  • London Waterloo to Exeter Central
  • London Paddington to Exeter St David’s

If you arrive into Exeter St David’s, either change to a local train to Exeter Central (plat. 1, 5 minutes), take the H bus to Exeter Central (7 minutes), or follow the signed footpath to centre of town (20 minutes, WARNING: very steep hill).

By car

If driving, it is best to take the M5 to the south end of the city, change to A3 and then to A377 (Alphington Rd.) to go into town. Limited parking is available at the hotel, but there are plenty of other carparks in central Exeter. The closest to the AGM venue are:

  • Bystock Terrace Car Park, EX4 4HY
  • Isca Place Car Park, EX4 3SR

You can also use https://exeter.gov.uk/car-parking/ to find alternative parking spots.

On your drive down, stop off at Cheddar Gorge, Tolkien’s inspiration for the Glittering Caves.