How a Motorcycle Ride Led Me into the World of Runes
Sometimes inspiration arrives in unexpected ways.
For me it began with a motorcycle ride through the hills, forests, and valleys of the Welsh border country. As a rider I’ve always enjoyed exploring quiet roads and old landscapes, and the route between the Forest of Dean and the Brecon Beacons has long been one of my favourites.
What I didn’t realise at first was just how much history — and imagination — lay hidden in those hills.
Tolkien in the Forest of Dean
In the late 1920s, the author and scholar J.R.R. Tolkien spent time working at the Roman temple site at Lydney Park in Gloucestershire. The excavation, led by archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler, uncovered the remains of a temple dedicated to the Celtic-Roman deity Nodens.
Tolkien was invited to study the inscriptions discovered there.
The Forest of Dean itself is an ancient landscape. For centuries it has been shaped by mining, woodland industries, and layers of folklore. Roman iron workings lie beneath the trees, and the surrounding hills are filled with stories of dwarfs, miners, and hidden places beneath the earth.
Standing there today, it isn’t difficult to imagine how such a place might have stirred Tolkien’s imagination.
Landscapes That Feel Like Middle-earth
The more I explored the region, the more connections seemed to appear.
The deep woodland of the Forest of Dean feels uncannily like the kind of forest Tolkien described in his stories. Nearby, the River Wye winds through dramatic cliffs and valleys, crossed in places by old ferries that seem lifted straight from a different century.
Further west, as the road climbs toward the Brecon Beacons, the landscape opens out into lonely hills and distant peaks.
It was easy to imagine travellers setting out from peaceful countryside and gradually entering wilder lands.
The feeling reminded me strongly of the journeys described in Tolkien’s books.
A Route Through Tolkien’s England
That realisation eventually turned into an idea.
What if the ride itself became a kind of pilgrimage through landscapes that might have inspired Tolkien — or at least landscapes that make us think about his world?
The result was a route that begins near Sarehole Mill, where Tolkien spent part of his childhood, then travels through the Malvern Hills, the Forest of Dean, and the Wye Valley, before finally reaching the mountains of Wales.
It became, in a sense, a ride from the Shire into Wilderland.
Discovering Runes
But Tolkien’s influence runs deeper than landscapes.
Before he became famous as a novelist, Tolkien was a philologist — a scholar of language. He was fascinated by early Germanic languages, Old English poetry, and the ancient runic alphabets used across northern Europe.
As I began reading more about his work, I found myself drawn into that same world.
Runes are far more than mysterious symbols. They are part of the cultural history of early medieval Europe, used for writing, carving, and sometimes for symbolic or ritual purposes.
Learning about them opened a door into a much wider historical landscape — one filled with early kingdoms, migrations, myths, and craftsmanship.
From History to Craft
As a maker, working with metal and engraving designs into rings and objects, the connection felt natural.
Runes were originally cut into wood, bone, and metal by hand. They were practical letters, but they also carried meaning, identity, and sometimes deep personal significance.
That connection between craft, language, and history is something I find endlessly fascinating.
What began as curiosity about Tolkien’s travels in the Forest of Dean gradually became a deeper exploration of the early medieval world and its symbolism.
The Journey Continues
In the end, the motorcycle route, the landscapes, the runes, and the craft all became part of the same story.
Exploring ancient places has a way of connecting us with the people who came before us — whether they were Roman miners, medieval craftsmen, or scholars like Tolkien who spent their lives studying the languages and myths of the past.
Sometimes all it takes is a ride through the countryside to start that journey.
Explore the landscapes that helped inspire Tolkien’s imagination. This motorcycle route travels from Sarehole Mill through the Malvern Hills and the Forest of Dean before crossing the Wye Valley and climbing into the wild mountains of Wales
For those who want a bit more detail I’ve prepared A Rider’s Field Guide to Tolkien Country
Landscapes, Legends, and the Road from the Shire to the Welsh Mountains
There are few better ways to explore an old landscape than by motorcycle. The pace is slow enough to notice the details, yet fast enough to cross valleys and hills that once separated ancient communities.
The route described here travels through a part of England and Wales rich with history, folklore, and landscapes that echo the world imagined by J.R.R. Tolkien.
While none of these places are literally Middle-earth, riding through them makes it easy to see how such landscapes might stir the imagination.
This field guide highlights the key stops along the journey.
Sarehole Mill – The Shire Begins
On the edge of modern Birmingham stands Sarehole Mill, a working watermill that once sat in open countryside.
J.R.R. Tolkien spent part of his childhood nearby, and the peaceful rural landscape around the mill helped shape his vision of the Shire.
At the turn of the twentieth century the area consisted of fields, ponds, and small farms — a quiet corner of England before the growth of the city.
Standing beside the mill today, it is not difficult to imagine hobbits living comfortably in the surrounding countryside.
Yew Tree Lane – An Ancient Holloway
Hidden in the Herefordshire countryside lies one of England’s most atmospheric roads.
Yew Tree Lane is a holloway, an ancient road worn deep into the earth by centuries of carts, horses, and travellers. The banks rise high on either side, forming a tunnel of hedges and trees.
These sunken lanes appear throughout medieval England and feel almost unchanged since earlier centuries.
Riding through one gives a strong sense of moving through an older landscape.
Malvern Hills – First Sight of the Mountains
The Malvern Hills rise sharply from the surrounding farmland, forming a long ridge overlooking the Severn Valley.
Tolkien walked these hills during his youth and later wrote about how they stirred his imagination with the sense of distant mountains and unexplored lands.
From the ridge the view stretches west toward Wales, where the land slowly rises into the mountains beyond.
For travellers heading west, this is where the countryside begins to feel like the start of an adventure.
Forest of Dean – The Deep Wood
Few places in England feel as ancient as the Forest of Dean.
For centuries the forest has been shaped by mining, charcoal burning, and woodland industries. Beneath the trees lie Roman iron workings and later medieval mines.
The forest also carries a long tradition of folklore, including stories of dwarfs, hidden tunnels, and mysterious underground places.
It is easy to see why such landscapes inspired Tolkien’s descriptions of dark and ancient forests.
Lydney Park – The Temple of Nodens
High on a wooded ridge overlooking the River Severn lie the ruins of a Roman temple complex at Lydney Park.
In the late 1920s Tolkien was invited to study inscriptions found during excavations at the site. The temple was dedicated to Nodens, a Celtic-Roman deity associated with hunting and healing.
Nearby lies a hill long known locally as Dwarf Hill, reflecting the region’s long connection with mining and underground folklore.
The combination of Roman ruins, ancient woodland, and old mining traditions creates a landscape rich in mythic atmosphere.
Symonds Yat – The River Crossing
The River Wye cuts a deep valley through the borderlands between England and Wales.
At Symonds Yat a small hand-pulled ferry still crosses the river, guided by a cable stretched across the water.
Watching the ferry move slowly across the river feels like stepping into another century, and the surrounding cliffs and woodland create one of the most dramatic landscapes on the route.
For travellers moving west, this river marks the boundary between the settled countryside and the hills beyond.
Sugar Loaf – The Lonely Mountain
Approaching Abergavenny, one peak rises prominently above the surrounding hills.
This is Sugar Loaf Mountain, whose distinctive shape often makes it appear as a solitary peak standing apart from the rest of the landscape.
From the valley roads it dominates the skyline and acts as a natural landmark for travellers moving through the region.
Moments like this remind us how mountains often serve as symbols of distant destinations in stories and journeys.
Gospel Pass – Into the Wild Hills
From Abergavenny the road climbs into the Black Mountains via Gospel Pass, the highest road in Wales.
The change in landscape is dramatic. Fields disappear, trees thin out, and the open moorland of the Brecon Beacons spreads across the hills.
The road winds across the mountains before descending toward the small town of Crickhowell.
It is here, among the open hills and wide skies, that the journey finally leaves the lowlands behind.
Crickhowell – Journey’s End
The route ends in the town of Crickhowell, set beside the River Usk beneath the mountains.
Today it is a welcoming stop for travellers exploring the Brecon Beacons, but historically it stood on the edge of the Welsh uplands.
For riders arriving from the English countryside, the town marks the moment when the landscape fully changes from farmland to mountains.
Like the end of the first chapter in a journey, it is both a destination and a gateway to further adventures.
Leave your mark:
👍 Like the piece
💬 Carve a comment
Please use the like button below if you like what you’ve read and/or leave a comment.
Leave a Reply