Buckland

[The Mouth of Sauron]

Can anyone recommend a detailed map of Buckland please ?

Also, there a couple of questions people might be able to help with : -

- The Hedge ran from the North Gate all the way down to the mouth of the Withywindle . Did the Old Forest run alongside it the whole way ? The reason I ask is that in most maps the Forest doesn't seem to go as far north as the Road so presumably the most northern stretch of the Hedge ran along open country ?

- The North Gate of Buckland itself . Was it right by the Brandywine Bridge ? In the ROTK there's not really a description of it . Merry mentions the North Gate as the hobbits are returning to the Shire and Gandalf says he may have trouble, but when they get to Brandywine Bridge there's no further mention .

[Mänwe]

Mouth, I wish I could provide something concrete. However I cannot find any other references to either of your questions in any of the books. My eyes are bleeding from me poring over the text, alas!

However looking at various maps, it seems your conclusion is an intelligent one. :) As is your 'self' answer regarding the North Gate. Mentions of it are made earlier in Chapter 11 A Knife in the Dark, however it is of no help. Again maps tend to show the bridge to the east of the river.

[mark12_30]

Have you tried the "Atlas of Middle Earth" by Karen Wynn Fonstadt, or "Journeys of Frodo" by Barbara Strachey?

[Boromir88]

As Manwe said, it seems like your conclusions are quite accurate. Mark references some good books and maps for you to look at.

Also, if you want to check out the Encyclopedia of Arda which has some more information, plus a map of Buckland (http://www.glyphweb.com/Arda/default.asp?url=http://www.glyphweb.com/Arda/b/buckland.html). Where:

1. It appears the Old Forest does run mostly along with the Hedge, except for the Northern tip.

2. Here is a description of the Buckland Gate (http://www.glyphweb.com/Arda/default.asp?url=http://www.glyphweb.com/Arda/b/bucklandgate.html).

The Encyclopedia of Arda is usually a good source of information and reference. However, sometimes their articles are like threads here, where an author is offering his/her opinion. ;)