The Old Forest

The Old Forest is an ancient and perilous wood lying east of Buckland and the Shire in Eriador, one of the last remnants of the primeval forests that once covered much of Middle-earth. It is a dark, watchful, and ill-tempered wood, whose trees are awake and hostile to those who enter, and it is bounded on its western side by the High Hay, the great hedge the hobbits of Buckland raised to keep the forest at bay.

The Old Forest is feared by the hobbits, who tell of trees that move, paths that shift, and travelers who go in and do not come out. It is the home of strange and old powers, including Old Man Willow and, beyond the forest's eastern edge, the enigmatic Tom Bombadil.

Geography

The Old Forest lies between the High Hay of Buckland in the west and the Barrow-downs in the east, with the river Withywindle running through a deep valley at its heart, a place said to be the source of all the strangeness of the wood. The trees of the forest are crowded, ancient, and malicious, and the paths within seem to lead travelers astray, drawing them toward the Withywindle and the dangerous heart of the wood. Beyond the eastern eaves of the forest lies the country of Tom Bombadil and his house.

History

The Old Forest is a survivor of the vast woods of the Elder Days, shrunken over the ages as the lands around were cleared. The trees that remain are old and have grown wakeful, nursing a long memory and a deep hatred of those who cut and burn and tame. When the hobbits of Buckland once cut down the trees nearest the Hay and made a bonfire of them, the forest, it is said, grew angry and pressed close against the hedge ever after.

In the story

Fleeing the Black Riders, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin pass through the gate in the High Hay into the Old Forest. The malice of the wood drives them down toward the Withywindle, where Old Man Willow, a great and evil-hearted tree, ensnares and nearly devours Merry and Pippin. They are rescued by Tom Bombadil, who sings them free and gives them shelter in his house before they pass on toward the Barrow-downs and Bree.