Tolkien's Trail Calendar 2011

Through this fascinating full colour calendar you can follow the true Tolkien trail.

Note: Same pictures as last year with 2011 dates

Our epic quest starts not in Middle Earth but the Midlands of England. In his youth Tolkien lived and played in the shire of Sarehole, Birmingham. Tolkien and his brother Hilary were frequently chased from Sarehole Mill by the miller's son whom they nicknamed the 'White Ogre'. This pretty mill was the inspiration behind the great Mill from  ''The Hobbit'. Fully restored to its former glory this delightful scene starts our wonderful journey.

A stone's throw from the mill takes us to 264 Wake Green Road. Tolkien said that the times he spent at Sarehole were the happiest years of his youth. Sarehole is claimed to have been the model for 'The Shire',  the home of the Hobbits. Memories of this idylic rural childhood were to influence much of his writing.

A nearby path leads us to the brooding atmospheric Moseley Bog. The bog was the perfect setting for Tolkien's childhood adventures. Moseley bog is recalled in Tolkien's description of the 'Old Forest', last of the primeval wild woods where 'Tom Bombadil' lived. 'The trees do not like strangers. They watch you.'

When Tolkien's mother became a Catholic the family worshiped at St Annes, Alcester Street. Tolkien was to follow the faith adopted by his mother for the rest of his life. The friendship of Father Francis Xavier Morgan from the Oratory, Hagley Road, was a sorce of strength during his mother Mabel's illness and subsequent death.

The inspiration behind the Two Towers of Gondor belong to two extraordinary buildings in Edgbaston where the family now lived. The 96 ft Perrott's folly bears an uncanny resemblance to the tower depicted in 'Lord of the Rings.' The other mighty tower stands close by in a Victorian waterworks.

Our trail moves south to Oxford and our first port of call is the delightful public house The Eagle and Child aka The Bird and Baby. It was here Tolkien and his friend CS Lewis the author of the Narnia stories formed a group of like minded people called The Inklings. On the walls inside are plaques and pictures commemorating their meetings here.

Our trail now stays in Oxford and features more inspirational locations until finally settling on the great man's resting place Wolvercote Cemetry. The simple gravestone reads:

Edith Mary Tolkien Luthien 1889 - 1971

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien  Beren 1892 - 1973