Landmark:The Withywindle
From LOTRO Lorebook
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From its source in the mysterious Barrow-downs and all along its course through the Old Forest, the River Withywindle is a place of strange happenings and of dark and ancient legends. When adventuring in unknown areas within the Old Forest, travellers would be wise to avoid these winding, slow-moving waters, though doing so may prove difficult – The Withywindle has a way of drawing the unwary toward its deceptively tranquil surface and into its dark depths. It is also said that strange creatures of the forest - and even the very willow trees themselves along the Withywindle's banks - are agents of its ancient evil.
As readers of The Lord of the Rings are no doubt aware, the Old Forest and the journey to the banks of the Withywindle represent some of the strangest and most exciting locales for brave adventurers to explore in all of Eriador. Taking the lead from Professor Tolkien himself, leaving the relative safety of Buckland and travelling the winding paths to the Withywindle in LOTRO is a journey full of unexpected twists and turns, where nothing is truly quite what it seems. Adventurers should travel with caution, keeping an eye out for strange beasts and even the menacing movements of the trees on all sides. Unexpected pitfalls abound for the unwary all through the wood. However, the ancient voices of the Old Forest are not all in opposition to travellers. A keen observer will find the home of Tom Bombadil and Goldberry along the river's banks --but beware, for the wickedness of the Old Forest lies all around, even in these rare areas of friendliness and apparent safety.
[edit] River Withywindle
[edit] Quick Facts
| Location: | Running southwestwards through the Old Forest |
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| Source: | Rose in the higher ground north of the Forest, above the house of Tom Bombadil |
| Outflow: | Into the Baranduin at the southern end of Buckland, above Deephallow |
| Meaning: | 'Willow-winding'1 |
[edit] The river that flowed through the Old Forest
A minor tributary of the River Baranduin or Brandywine that flowed through the Old Forest on the borders of the Shire.
[edit] Footnotes
| 1 | The name includes the old word withy, meaning 'willow'. The -windle element derives from wendel, which does not actually occur historically, but is used by Tolkien in various Old English river-names. The name of the river was apparently suggested by withywind, an old name for the tangling, climbing plant more commonly known as bindweed. |
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