Old Forest

In J. R. R. Tolkien’s fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Old Forest is a small forested area which lies east of the Shire in Buckland.

The Old Forest is one of the few survivors of the primordial forests which covered most of Eriador before the Second Age, and it once was but the northern edge of one immense forest which reached all the way to Fangorn forest.

It is bordered in the east by the Barrow-downs, and in the west by the High Hay (also known as the Hedge), a large hedge which the Hobbits of Buckland cultivated after they cut the forest to make room for their new homes.

The Hobbits believed the trees of the Old Forest were in some manner 'awake', and were hostile. They sway when there is no wind, whisper at night, and mislead travellers deeper into the forest. When the trees grew too close to the Hedge, hobbits cut down the trees nearest and created a clearing by a bonfire. Ever since then, the trees were more hostile. Deep within the Old Forest was the Withywindle Valley, a dark, evil and malevolent place which was the root of all the terrors of the forest.

Just before the War of the Ring, the hobbits Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took crossed through it trying to escape from the Black Riders. This is detailed in the The Fellowship of the Ring, in the chapter called "The Old Forest." According to this chapter, the trees had attacked Buckland much earlier by planting themselves next to the Hedge and leaning over. After this, the hobbits cleared a long strip of land on the outside of the Hedge and created a large bonfire in an area that later became known as The Bonfire Glade. After this, the trees became much more unfriendly to the hobbits.

At the south-eastern edge of the forest, on the bank of the river Withywindle, stood the house of Tom Bombadil, who rescued Pippin and Merry when they were trapped by a tree Tom called Old Man Willow.