The Encyclopedia of Arda - Water-valley (original) (raw)
The wide vale in which Hobbiton lay
The Water was a river that ran through the central regions of the Shire from west to east, forming a wide and shallow valley that extended across much of the land. The Water rose in the Westfarthing, gathering its waters in Rushock Bog before running southeastwards towards Hobbiton. Hobbiton was built on the Water at the bottom of its valley, though a single Hill rose on the northern banks as the land sloped upward. This was Hobbiton Hill, from which the famous Hobbit-hole of Bag End looked out across the Water-valley.
A few miles eastward along the valley from Hobbiton lay Bywater, and here the Water was joined by a stream from the north to form Bywater Pool. Leaving the Pool, the Water ran on almost directly eastward, and it was here that it was joined by the East Road which ran along the valley, parallel to the course of the Water. The valley continued on through the Eastfarthing for some thirty miles, and the Hobbits built various villages and towns on the valley floor. Frogmorton lay in the marshlands halfway along the valley's passage through the Eastfarthing. Further east, Whitfurrows and Budgeford lay close together within the valley.
The Water-valley came to an end as it reached the eastern border of the Shire, which was marked by the river Brandywine flowing strongly down from the north. At this point the Water ran into the Brandywine, and its valley widened to the join the vale of the larger river. Meanwhile the East Road crossed the Brandywine Bridge just downstream from the Water's mouth, to continue on eastward into the wilder lands of Middle-earth.
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- Updated 1 June 2024
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