WITH a letter recently surfacing at auction confirming in J.R.R. Tolkien’s own hand that he based Crickhollow in The Lord of the Rings on Crickhowell, Middle-Earth obsessives everywhere have been scrambling around to find other local connections.

The Lonely Mountain, where the dragon Smaug guards his hoard in The Hobbit, is said to be based largely on the Sugar Loaf.

The village of Bwlch is said to be the inspiration for the Hobbit name Bucklebury; the Brandywine Bridge is thought to he loosely based upon Llangynidr Bridge; and the Giant Redwood on the Mon and Bred Canal near Llangattock is thought to be the inspiration for the Ent Treebeard.

But is it?

Anyone who has walked, cycled or boated past this iconic beauty cannot help but be taken aback by its sheer size, majesty and presence.

If any tree were to slowly come to life and start saying wise things in a deep timbre older than the hills, it would be this one.

It’s well known that Tolkien based Treebeard’s manner and pattern of speech on his friend and fellow author C.S. Lewis.

But where did he get the physical inspiration for the oldest inhabitant of Middle Earth who dwells in Fangorn Forest?

In Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, there is an old oak in Brocton Coppice know as the Groot tree. It looks very Ent like and locals believe it inspired Tolkien when he was stationed nearby during World War One.

Yet there is no definite proof, not even a letter saying how much he was inspired by the area.

Crickhowell has an actual letter and also an abundance of other anecdotal evidence linking Tolkien to an area that fed his inspiration when it came to writing The Lord of the Rings.

We many never know if the Californian Redwood on the Mon and Brec Canal was the real-life inspiration for Treebeard but it definitely gives off strong Lord of the Rings vibes and a sense that you’re being watched by something ancient!

So on the strength of that alone, we’ll claim it!

Tree
Getting to the roots of the mystery! (Abergavenny Chronicle )