Bucklebury and the Hedge

After the Hobbits crossed the Ferry and came up the steep bank on the other side, they passed Buck Hill and Brandy Hall on their left (A Conspiracy Unmasked; Bk 1) before reaching the main road from Brandywine Bridge. They then went north for about half a mile along this road before turning off to Crickhollow which was reached through a narrow gate in a thick hedge.

There were still a lot of Smials in Bucklebury, and I have shown these along the north-west side of the hill.

Incidentally this was another day when the Hobbits had two suppers.

It seems possible that the lane to Crickhollow led on to some farm or homestead near the Hedge, and that it was this path along which they travelled the next morning, after making their way through the spinney behind the house, turning off it to ride left along the Hedge to the Tunnel Gate. They had been riding fairly slowly for about an hour by then, so it must have been about 4 or 5 miles. (The Old Forest; Bk 1.)

 

The Old Forest

There was a cleared space on the other side of the Tunnel, and after entering the trees and climbing for a bit they reached the Bonfire Glade. Beyond this they climbed again to the bald top of the hill, which they reached about n a.m. (The Old Forest; Bk 1.)

They were 'not many miles' from the East Road here (some 9, I reckon, see Map 6) but they were misled by the baleful influence of the forest and switched further and further south and east until they scrambled down a gully to the river Withywindle.

Hobbits, we are told (Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit; Bk 2), cannot manage more than about 24 miles a day on foot, subject, normally, to extended meal breaks. No doubt their metabolism genuinely required the large amounts of food they ate. This, however, was one of the days when they were all riding ponies and they should have been able to cover some 30-35 miles. With all the difficulties they came across, however, I do not think they managed more than about 25 miles.

Tom Bombadil’s house was on the west side of a hill (Fog on the Barrow-downs; Bk 1) which was apparently just called 'Hill' (The Old Forest; Bk 1), just as Bag End was on a hill just called 'The Hill'. It was just outside the eaves of the Forest which ran sharply north from there.

 

The Barrow-downs

I believe the slopes of the Barrow-downs must have started within the borders of the Forest and have run up quite steeply on that side, because if there had been a valley or flat space between the trees and the hills there would have been no need for the Hobbits to wander into the downs at all; they could have ridden due north and avoided them.

They started north from Tom Bombadil’s house (Fog on the Barrow-downs; Bk 1) and then up and down and round the hills. They made another overlong lunch halt in a spot from which they could see the gate-like opening on the north side of the downs, and also the misleading line of bushes which they thought was the avenue of trees bordering the East Road.

When they got lost in the fog they tried to bear north towards the 'gate' but wandered, in fact, towards the east where the downs were higher, until Frodo found himself facing south on the Barrow-wights hill. Next morning Tom Bombadil led them west and then north to the northern gap and away from the downs, past the dike and bushes and so onto the road. (Fog on the Barrow-downs; Bk 1.)

 

Bree

At the point where they reached the East Road and parted from Tom Bombadil, it was running south-west to north-east, and they were about four miles from Bree. (Fog on the Barrow-downs; Bk 1.)

Bree faced west under the steep side of Bree Hill. There was a semi-circular dike and hedge on the west side, with one gate to the west, leading to the crossroads where the Greenway crossed the East Road, and a second gate to the south. The inn backed onto the hillside and looked west – it must have been just about where the road swung south from the west gate to the south gate. (At the Sign of The Prancing Pony; Bk 1.)

It is clear that Chetwood reached far enough south to stretch across the road out of Bree. (A Knife in the Dark; Bk 1.) Staddle was on the other side of the hill from Bree, Combe in a deep valley further east and Archet on the edge of Chetwood. (At the Sign of The Prancing Pony; Bk 1.)

There are some who maintain that Archet was on the northern edge of Chetwood, but I cannot agree. That would put it some 30 miles away and it is clearly stated that it was hidden in the trees beyond Combe and when the travellers left the road to go north into Chetwood they went first towards Archet but then bore right and passed it on their left. (A Knife in the Dark; Bk 1.) In any case it was close enough for some of the villagers to see the travellers off from Bree, and Breeland must have been a small and close community.

 

Bree to Weathertop

At this point I must note what I believe to be a real discrepancy in the text itself. In Bree (At the Sign of The Prancing Pony; Bk 1) Aragorn tells Sam that Weathertop is halfway to Rivendell. I am sure that this was a slip of the tongue and that he meant halfway to The Last Bridge. Everything falls into place on this assumption, since the travellers took 7 days between Bree and Weathertop (involving a detour to the north) and 7 days from Weathertop to the Bridge (with Frodo in a wounded condition and unable to hurry) while there was a further stretch of 7 days from the Bridge to Rivendell. Aragorn was well aware of the distance, as he said later (A Knife in the Dark; Bk 1), when they reached Weathertop, that it would then take them 14 days to the Ford of Bruinen although it normally took him only 12. I have tried to construct a map in which the original statement would work, but it would involve carrying the road from Bree to Weathertop down in so vast a southward loop – over 200 miles – that it would run far south of the South Downs, and as the loop was merely to avoid the marshes (A Knife in the Dark; Bk 1) this is not plausible. I have therefore gone on the assumption that he meant to say 'The Last Bridge'.

Aragorn took his companions a fairly long way north within Chetwood before turning east, and only emerged from the wood on the third day. This was probably not only as a precaution against pursuit but also because he knew that the marsh was impassable further south. The travellers spent two nights in Midgewater and then the land began to rise again. They went straight on and then south along the foot of the hills. (A Knife in the Dark; Bk 1.)

The Forsaken Inn was a day's journey east of Bree along the East Road. (A Knife in the Dark; Bk 1.)

South of Bree the Greenway passed through the defile of Andrath on its way to Tharbad and the south, and was later joined by the road from Sarn Ford. (See Map 49.)

 

Weathertop

The Weather Hills rose up to nearly 1000 feet and ran north to south. Weathertop itself was the highest, and the dell in which they sheltered was on its west flank and only half an hour's climb from the top. (A Knife in the Dark; Bk 1.) The ruins on the top were those of Amon Sûl. (Council of Elrond; Bk 1; and The Northern Kingdom and the Dúnedain; Appendix A, Bk 3.)

There was a small stream in the dell which I have made drain south instead of into the marsh. I have no specific warrant for this but it seemed to me likely that there would be some tributaries flowing into the Hoarwell from the west as well as from the east, and that if so they would rise either on Weathertop or on the South Downs. Since one stream was actually mentioned as rising on Weathertop I have assumed that it was one of these.