Do you recognize these landscapes in LOTR?

[CSteefel]

Just wondering if people recognized any of the landscapes in LOTR? Perhaps the most famous could be Rivendell, which I have seen as inspired apparently by some Swiss valley that Tolkien entered as a young man. I am actually a bit surprised by this, since most Swiss valleys I have seen have that characteristic U shape from glaciation, while Rivendell always struck me as a more of a gorge???

Otherwise, the Shire and environs seems like classic sort of English countryside (Kent?), or almost a caricature of it.

I am more interested in some of the other landscapes, like the region near Weathertop, or the hill country of the Trolls just before the arrival in Rivendell.

Other landscapes?? Ithilien, Rohan, Emyn Muil, Hollin???

[The Mouth of Sauron]

The 2 towers were actually inspired by a location in Birmingham, England : -

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?im...a%3DN%26um%3D1

[Rumil]

Hi CSteefl & Mouth,

Interesting question, I think there are quite a number that are definite, possible or probable (though which is which?).

Tolkien spent most of his early life in the Midlands, Birmingham mostly, then Warwick. He was also Up North for a while (was it Leeds or Sheff?) then of course down to Oxford. As a very young child he was in South Africa and was in the army on the Western Front in WWI. Holidays in Switzerland have already been mentioned.

OK, so locations-

The two towers- already explained.

Sarehole Mill in Birmingham- Sandyman's Mill (now visitable as an attaction)

The Shire - Warwickshire countryside

These are I think pretty widely accepted

Dead Marshes - the trenches of WWI

Mordor, smokes and broils, slag heaps etc - WWI trenches and probably heavy industrial bits of West Mids at the time

Misty Mts - Swiss Alps

Some I think might be interesting ideas-

Kor Tirion - inspired in some way by Warwick Castle

The hidden gardens of Warwick fit in somewhere but can't remember where at the mo!

Birmingham University Chancellor's Court and the big clock tower (Old Joe) bring to mind the top level of Minas Tirith and the tower of Ecthelion, Gondolin too maybe. (OK in marble rather than red-brick) as JRRT was at school just over the road.

[Gordis]

As for 'Fornost', a glance at the book would show that it is comparable rather to the Kings' mounds at Old Uppsala than to the city of Leeds - #229

I am not sure about Fornost, but I think the burial mounds of Gamla Uppsala look more like the Barrow-Downs...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ala_sunset.jpg

[ElanorFB]

I always saw the Beornings lands near Mirkwood and into Mirkwood as the Black Forest.