Oh my, the Francis Frith photo reminds me so much of Tolkien's landscapes. Perhaps it is the prefectly rounded pathway that does it. But I suspect, at anyrate, that not all his descriptions (written or drawn) came straight out of thin air. I just can't picture him with the time to sketch!
(Sometimes I wish my house looked as empty as that! But where would I put my vast collection of dust bunnies?
)