Sarn Gebir and Argonath

When the travellers realised that they were in the Rapids, they turned the boats and began to fight their way upstream. The river carried them nearer and nearer to the east bank where they were attacked by Orcs. Finally they managed to get over to the west bank and then upstream a short way until they found a shallow bay where they moored for the rest of the night. (The Great River; Bk 1.)

Next morning they found the Portage Way and carried the boats down it. The Rapids were not much more than a mile long, but they had to make two trips and the task was exhausting and they got no further than the foot of the Rapids that day.

That night they moored in a pool and next day sped along the narrow ravine through the hills of Emyn Muil, finally bending west before they passed through the Gates of Argonath between the Pillars of the Kings and so out into the open lake. There were trees above the steep grey slopes of the hills. (The Great River; Bk 1.)

 

Parth Galen

There were three peaks at the south end of the lake, Nen Hithoel, of which Amon Hen was the westernmost, Amon Lhaw the easternmost and the island of Tol Brandir the central one.

Tol Brandir rose steeply to a shelf crowned with trees before rising again to a central peak. The travellers passed to the west of it and landed by a little stream in the lawn of Parth Galen. (The Breaking of the Fellowship; Bk 1.)

The path called the North Stair led down from the lake to the foot of the Falls of Rauros, and had been used for portage in the old days. (The Great River; Bk 1.)

When Frodo sat on the top of Amon Hen (The Mount of Seeing) and put on the Ring, he could see a vast circle reaching from Isengard to Barad-dûr and from the Misty Mountains down to the delta of the Anduin – a radius of a good 300 miles.

As there was so much separate activity over the same ground in this area I have tried to label each track with the name of its maker. The map shows the route by which Frodo and Sam left the others, the course of Boromir’s funeral boat, and the various ways taken by the companions when the Orcs seized Merry and Pippin. (The Breaking of the Fellowship; Bk 1.)

 

Eastemnet and Nen Hithoel

The two ridges on the western side of Emyn Muil ran roughly north-south and were steeper on their western sides. (The Riders of Rohan; Bk 2.) Owing to the lie of these ridges I assume that the stream Aragorn came upon after finding the bodies of the Orcs in the hills would have drained into the other stream they passed, which ran down the ravine of the East Wall of Rohan, and we are told that that ran into the Entwash.

The East Wall was a steep ridge on the west side of the Emyn Muil. It rose some 120 feet from a wide and rugged shelf above the plains of the Rohirrim. From the top Legolas saw a great company on foot – clearly the Orcs who had captured Merry and Pippin – some 36 miles ahead.

They scrambled down a deep cleft with a stream in it and ran on across the plain for 36 miles before resting. (The Riders of Rohan; Bk 2.)

 

The Vale of Entwash

Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli covered 45 leagues in all (135 miles) in their great four-day run, travelling north-west. The last part of this, the downs, stretched for 24 miles Aragorn said, and from the northernmost hill it was 45 miles north-west to the point where the Entwash emerged from the forest of Fangorn. (The Riders of Rohan; Bk 2.) A few pages later in The Two Towers,however, it says that from the hill they could see the forest only 30 miles away. There was probably a spur of woods sticking out a little east and south of the river which was nearer than the point where the river emerged.

The marshy land between the downs and the Entwash was about 10 miles wide. The path taken by the Rohirrim led up this east bank of the river after crossing it lower down at the Entwade, because the land to the west of the river was even more marshy. (The Riders of Rohan; Bk 2; The White Rider; Bk 2.)

Deeping Stream must eventually have run into the Entwash.

At the point where the Entwash emerged from Fangorn, Legolas noted that they were almost due west of the point they had reached on the second or third day on the Great River when Aragorn had told them that they were some 180 miles south of the Southfarthing. (The White Rider; Bk 2.)

The stone stair Merry and Pippin climbed (and later also the others) was only 3 or 4 miles from the edge of the forest. (Treebeard; Bk 2.)

The route taken by Merry, Pippin and Treebeard is shown on Map 28, that by Gandalf and his companions on Map 29.

 

Methedras and Fangorn

Wellinghall was a long way up the river, nearly at its source. (Treebeard; Bk 2.) Treebeard said he had brought the Hobbits 70,000 Entstrides, but the length of an Entstride is not given. Sam's cousin Hal reported that he had seen an Ent in the Shire, and claimed that his stride was 21 feet long. (A Shadow of the Past; Bk 1.) This would make the distance from the rock stair to Wellinghall nearly 270 miles, so I expect Hal was exaggerating. If Treebeard was 14 ft tall his stride (by comparison with a 3 ft stride for a 6 ft man) was probably something of the order of 6-7 ft. At this rate the distance would be about 80 miles. They probably started from the stair about 10 a.m. and reached Wellinghall at dusk, say 8 hours at 10 miles an hour.

The forest of Fangorn skirted the slopes of Methedras, which was the last peak of the Misty Mountains. (Treebeard; Bk 2.) According to the Book map it was due north of Nan Curunír, the Wizard’s Vale.

Leaving Wellinghall the next morning, Treebeard went south and then east into the forest to Derndingle. The Ents left Derndingle in the afternoon going southward down a long fold of the foothills and up onto the high western ridge – high enough to be just above the treeline. They reached the crest after dark and went on down a long ravine into the upper part of the valley. (Treebeard; Flotsam and Jetsam; Bk 2.)

 

Edoras

The first part of the ride of Gandalf and his companions to Edoras can be seen on Map 27. Shadowfax waded the river and took them due south, through fen and hollow, by a route known only to himself. (The White Rider; Bk 2.)

I make the distance to Edoras nearly 130 miles, which they covered in less than 24 hours. Even allowing for rests, this was a remarkable equine feat and the other horses must have been inspired by Shadowfax.

Edoras was at the point where the Snowbourn emerged from the mountains and turned east to join the Entwash. Four roads met there: the Great West Road to Minas Tirith, the path Éomer and his Riders had taken to the Entwade, the road to the Fords of Isen, and the road south up the valley to Dunharrow. (The King of the Golden Hall; Bk 2.)

When Gandalf and the others set off again with Théoden and his men, they took the road leading north-west along the foothills of the White Mountains. It was more than 40 leagues (120 miles) direct, or say 135 miles by the road. It crossed many swift streams, of which I have plotted two, which, together with Deeping Stream, must have run into the Entwash and helped to fill the marshes along its banks. (Helm’s Deep; Bk 2.)

 

30. Nan Curunír and Deeping-coomb

Nan Curunír, the valley where Isengard was built, is spelt with a G in the Book map, but I have followed the text and spelt it with a C. (Treebeard; The Road to Isengard; Bk 2.)

It was 15 miles from the mouth of Deeping-coomb to the Fords. The road from Edoras approached from the south-east, turning straight west for the last 2 miles before running down a long sloping bank to the river. (The Battles of the Fords of Isen; Unfinished Tales.)After crossing the Fords they went east and north to the mouth of the Vale for about 14 miles and camped by the river. They were then some 16 miles from Isengard. (The Road to Isengard; Bk 2.) In the Battles of the Fords of Isen (Unfinished Tales) it is said that from the point where the road to Hornburg branched off, it was 90 miles in a straight line to Isengard, but I find that impossible to reconcile with the clear directions given in The Lord of the Rings,and noted above. They reached Isengard on 5th March.

The ruined road which I have drawn running west from the Fords led northwards to Tharbad, and in the old days it was the main north-south road. There must also have been some sort of a path, probably on the east side of the Isen, leading to the stronghold on the Adorn, which had been built in the old days by Helm Hammerhand. (The House of Eorl; Appendix A, Bk 3; see also Map 49.)

There was probably no real road leading south on the west side of the Isen, but it was possible to reach Gondor by going down to the sea and turning east. When they failed to cross Redhorn Pass the Companions considered and rejected the idea of travelling this way. (A Journey in the Dark; Bk 1.)

This map also shows the beginning of Gandalf and Pippin’s ride to Minas Tirith. They left Isengard on 5th March. The whole course of the ride is shown on Map 33. The route of the ride to Helm’s Deep, which preceded the Battle (Map 31), is also given.

 

Helm’s Deep

The Riders turned south along Deeping Stream some 15 miles short of the Fords of Isen.

I have followed Tolkien’s picture of Helm's Deep. I have drawn the Hornburg in a loop of the stream, on a heel of rock sticking out from the northern cliff at the mouth of the deep ravine, where the Glittering Caves of Aglarond were. The Wall curved round the fortress and the road came in by a long ramp over the stream. Some quarter of a mile further out was the mile long dike and rampart. (Helm’s Deep; Bk 2.) Death Down, where the fallen Orcs were buried, was a mile from the dike. (The Road to Isengard; Bk 2.)

The path shown leading south and up into the hills was the road taken by Théoden and his Riders, with Merry, (after leaving Isengard, Map 30) to summon the mountain men to the Muster of Rohan at Dunharrow. (The Passing of the Grey Company; The Muster of Rohan; Bk 3.) See Map 41.

 

Isengard

There was only one entrance to the ring wall of stone round Orthanc. This was in the south. I have marked where the lake used to be, though it had presumably dried out by the time the travellers reached it. (The Road to Isengard; Bk 2.) The White Hand is off the map not far to the south.

Orthanc was made of four joined pillars of rock (there is a Tolkien drawing of it) and was 500 ft high.

When the Companions were reunited Gimli said that he had been chasing the Hobbits for 200 leagues (600 miles), but I think he was indulging in a little pardonable exaggeration, as I cannot make it more than about 500 miles. (The Road to Isengard; Bk 2.)

I have shown the gorge and the bridge where the Orcs crossed, and the main Ent dam of the Isen. (Flotsam and Jetsam; Bk 2.) Merry and Pippin came in from the north down the long ravine on the slopes of Mount Methedras. (See Map 28.)