YOUR Middle-earth

Post by **Elentári** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 12:38 am

Forget New Zealand! (well, just for a minute),

I thought it might be interesting to start a topic on whether you can recommend an area near you, or that you've visited, that reminds you of Middle-earth. [sorry if this has been done before ]

My offering is the the beautiful South Downs of Southern England near my home, for "Green Hill Country"

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3160/257 ... 6f.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3261/264 ... e5.jpg?v=0

Could even pass for the "Barrow Downs"

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2218/206 ... 01.jpg?v=0

Sun Jan 25, 2009 12:54 am

That's beautiful, Elentári. And very Middle-earth-ish. I particulalry like the fog on the "Barrow-downs".

I don't really have a place that I've been that makes me think of Middle-earth, I'm afraid. Except in my my head. Maybe I'll have to visit the beautiful South Downs of Southern England some day.

Post by **River** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 1:35 am

My brother and I found Ithilien on Mt. Rainier. It's on the Northern Loop Trail, up above the Yellowrock Cliff Camp. We also found the stairs of Cirith Ungol coming up out of Indian Bar.

Post by **Pearly Di** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 1:52 am

Lovely thread, Elentári.

I live near the North Downs, btw.

1) UK landscapes that remind me of Middle-earth:

The incomparably beautiful Llyn Peninsula in North Wales, a region where I spent my childhood holidays, and which is one of my very favourite places on this earth. The whole landscape is suffused with a mystical beauty, and is rich in Celtic/Arthurian elements:
http://www.arosfa-beddgelert.co.uk/Gallery.htm

The Glaslyn Estuary, in this region, is like the Grey Havens ...
http://www.walesdirectory.co.uk/images- ... stuary.jpg

Hertfordshire and Worcestershire, the heart of England, very close to Wales, and the landscape which was the inspiration for The Shire:
http://www.yell.com/images/uk/hertfords ... dshire.jpg

The rolling Wiltshire Downs also remind me of The Shire:
http://i.pbase.com/o6/94/469394/1/80572 ... 31copy.jpg

There are valleys in Devon which remind me of the Withywindle Valley:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3246/238 ... 17071b.jpg

... and there's a village called Withycombe on Exmoor.

The granite tors of Dartmoor remind me of the landscape that PJ used in the films:
http://www.bugbog.com/images/galleries/ ... tmoor2.jpg
http://www.miniatureponycentre.com/img/dartmoor.jpg

The tors remind me of ruined cities ... ruined towers like that of Amon Sûl.

These bleak Dartmoor views remind me of the Barrow Downs:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... r_View.jpg
http://www.lovetoescape.com/images/cd/D ... Dawson.jpg

2)
Norway, which I visited in 1988, is one of the most beautiful countries I've ever been to, and is Middle-earth incarnate:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... Norway.jpg
http://www.runer.info/Mardalsfossen_Wat ... y_2004.jpg

The Gates of Sirion in Beleriand? (pic from Norway)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/204/5164 ... 18.jpg?v=0

3) The Rocky Mountains of Western Canada remind me of the Misty Mountains.

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 2:53 am

What a wonderful idea for a thread, Elentári! And so many lovely photos to enjoy. I need to go hunt out pictures of my own Middle-earth, here in the northwestern U.S.

Post by **River** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 3:23 am

J and I also found the Emyn Muil, sort of. It's the moraine between the Whitman Glacier on Little Tahoma and the Ingraham on Rainier. We fell off (but we didn't meet Gollum). And then we walked away 'cuz our mom's a hobbit and we got the hardy genes.

Alas, all my pictures aren't digital. I don't think we got a pic of the Emyn Muil anyway, at least, not one wihtout my bloodied face in it.

Post by **vison** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:53 am

Post by **Elentári** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 1:49 pm

Thank you for contributing to my first thread - and such great pictures too.

Di- well met!

it seems our worlds are not so far apart!

I particularly enjoyed your photos of Dartmoor - my husband's family hails from Devon and I know it well. I also agree with you about Norway, I have enjoyed holidays both there and in Sweden. Wales, too. No wonder that landscapes so breathtakingly beautiful have inspired so many legends and stories.

Back to England - as we all know, Sarehole inspired Tolkien himself, so here's a few pictures:

http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/Media?MEDIA_ID=206510

Moseley Bog was the inspiration for The Old Forest:

http://www.virtualbrum.co.uk/tolkien/bog12.jpg

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgur ... 2%26sa%3DN

Post by **Elentári** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 11:03 pm

I came across this article on the Ribble Valley, which explores the Lancashire landscape, particularly around Hurst Green that inspired Tolkien

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Tra ... nd_372.jpg

Several names that appear locally are similar to those that are found in the book, including Shire Lane and the river Shirebourn. Also, in the novel the description of the view from Tom Bombadil's house towards the Misty Mountain is practically identical to that from New Lodge, where Tolkien stayed and which he painted.

One of his sketches shows a row of runner beans clearly visible - in the Fellowship, Frodo's outlook is described as being "obscured by a tall line of beans on poles". And looking at black-and-white photographs of the area, it wouldn't take a leap of imagination to see the old ferry at Hacking, which still operated when Tolkien visited, as the inspiration for the Buckleberry ferry in the book.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2003/d ... eed=global