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
YOUR Middle-earth
YOUR Middle-earth
Last edited by Elentári on Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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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.
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.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
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.
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.
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Letter no. 246, The Collected Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
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Letter no. 246, The Collected Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
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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.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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.
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.
When you can do nothing what can you do?
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
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
There is magic in long-distance friendships. They let you relate to other human beings in a way that goes beyond being physically together and is often more profound.
~Diana Cortes
~Diana Cortes
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
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2003/d ... eed=global
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
There is magic in long-distance friendships. They let you relate to other human beings in a way that goes beyond being physically together and is often more profound.
~Diana Cortes
~Diana Cortes