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All the United Kingdom England Birmingham Moseley Bog

Moseley Bog

An ancient woodland that inspired a young J.R.R. Tolkien.

Birmingham, England

Added By
Fred Cherrygarden
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The algae-filled pond of Moseley Bog.   Flickr/Elliott Brown
The algae-filled pond of Moseley Bog.   Flickr/Elliott Brown
“The trees seemed to close in before them.”   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
“For east or west all woods must fail.”   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
“The path was now plain before them…”   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
“Suddenly they came out of the trees and found themselves in a wide circular space.”   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
“[It] seemed to them that the Forest had relented, and was going to let them pass unhindered after all.”   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
A walk through Moseley Bog.   Flickr/Elliott Brown
A decking path through the wood.   Flickr/Elliott Brown
The wetland after which Moseley Bog is named.   Flickr/Elliott Brown
The ornamental entrance gate of Moseley Bog.   Flickr/Elliott Brown
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About

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, the author of the fantasy classic The Lord of the Rings, was born in South Africa and grew up in the Birmingham (then Worcestershire) village of Sarehole. He lived here with his widowed mother for a few years beginning in 1896, and the rural area later helped inspire the vision behind his landmark fantasy world, Middle-earth.

Near young Tolkien's childhood home was Moseley Bog, a local nature reserve rich in wildlife, which he later described as a "kind of lost paradise." It is made up of woodland both wet and dry, together with patches of fen vegetation that developed on the site of an old millpond. There are also two Bronze Age burnt mounds in the area, which are designated as scheduled monuments.

It is believed that Moseley Bog was one of the major inspirations behind the Shire, home of the hobbits, as well as the ancient forests of Middle-earth. Nearby Sarehole Mill, which Moseley Bog used to feed as a reservoir, also appears in The Lord of the Rings, as a location in Hobbiton.

Related Tags

Fantasy Fantasy Locations Books Bogs

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Added By

Fred Cherrygarden

Published

May 20, 2020

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Sources
  • https://www.tolkiensociety.org/2014/08/moseley-bog-named-uks-top-hidden-spot/
  • https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/moseleybog
Moseley Bog
Yardley Wood Road
Birmingham, England, B13 9JX
United Kingdom
52.436652, -1.866503
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