Let’s go on a long hobbit journey!
They say there are hobbits living outside of The Shire. Outside of The Breelands too. Far away to the south-east, in a land called Everwait! Imagine all they can tell us about hobbit history? We just have to go visit!
Rumours speak of a hobbit village in an area called Gloomglens. Not that we really believe that, no hobbit worth his or her salt would ever settle in such a gloomy-sounding place. However, if them are there… imagine the stories they could tell? Of old hobbit practices? Of where hobbits came from in the past?
The Grand Order is currently preparing a journey towards this village. This will naturally be a long, slow journey, with some hardships involved. Who knows what food they serve out there! However, if we stay together, I am sure we can get there safe and sound. Even back again too!
We also welcome other adventurous hobbits along for the journey. Don’t worry if yer waistband is too small for the areas we might visit. We’ll do our best to take good care of yer all! Just don’t tell yer friends and family that yer plan to be all adventurous, now. Surely yer don’t want them to believe that yer are peculiar or something? Didn’t think so!
Pack up all yer need! Prepare campfires, food and a trusty walking stick! And join us on the road towards Everwait!
The Grand Journey HomeOOC
This is this year’s Hobbit Historical Field Trip, happening on the LOTRO Laurelin server. We’ll go visit our far-off cousins in Enedwaith, the hobbit village in Gloomglens! That’ll take our hobbits well outside of the Shire comfort zone, but it should be good fun!
Basically, this is a roleplaying journey over several days, providing social adventurous fun on the road. This would mean slow-travelling by walking or slow pony riding, likely following this route.
- Monday 31st August or Tuesday September 1st – Crafting and preparation market, Michel Delving
- Friday September 4th – Farewell party at the Floating Log in Frogmorton
- Saturday September 5th – 1st leg – The Shire to Bree.
- Sunday September 13th – 2nd leg – Bree to Ost Guruth (with a stop at the Forsaken Inn)
- Saturday September 19th – 3rd leg – Ost Guruth to Rivendell
- Sunday September 27th – 4th leg – Rivendell to Echad Dunann
- Saturday October 10th – 5th leg – Echad Dunann to Gloomglens
Each of the legs would mean a meet-up, then travelling slowly to our end destination for the day. There may be breaks on the road, possibly with some lore about the lands we pass through. Once we reach our destination, there will be more food, tales/poems about where we are/have been, talks with those we meet on the road, etc. Should travelling elves, dwarves or men be around when we reach their lands, them’s welcome to join in the travels.
We also encourage low-level characters to join in, that’s just fun! We’ll do our best to keep yer safe as we enter higher-level zones.
There may be other event tie-ins when we are on the road, for instance fishing competitions or similar.
We will spread the journey over several weeks. At the same time, there will be things happening in the Shire that those attending will take part. That’s no problem, though, we will be a bit “dual” about being on the road during the event days, while happily roleplaying in the Shire the rest of the time. Also, we will not bother adhering to the in-game night/day cycle. We just start the event at the announced times.
Come join us on the road, hobbits! Let’s have some fun together!
[…] field trips, about every six months. Last year, though, we went for a more ambitious undertaking: The Grand Journey Home, from the Shire to the Stoor village in Maur Tulhau in Enedwaith. Held over six evenings, this […]
[…] This is what happened when a bunch of hobbits decide to visit their cousins in Gloomglens, Enedwaith. More info about the Grand Journey Home can be found at Lina’s burrow. […]
[…] Name: The Grand Journey Home […]
My hobbit, Seolferwulf, hails from the hobbit village in the Gloomglens. She has not been back in a good, long while and would relish the chance to do so. I hope that she will arrive on Laurelin in time for this.
There was once a quicker way.
My father used to tell me that, in the Days of Kings, the Greenway by my homelands was a part of a great royal road that started in North Downs, and ran all the way down through Menhiriath in ancient Cardolan, thence on to Endedwaith, Dunland and even into Rohan and Gondor on the other side of the mountains. Where the road crossed the Greyflood, a busy city once stood. (I think he called it “Thangbard”, or something like that.)
The city itself was all but abandoned centuries ago as it fell into decay and the roads were claimed by the weather and the wilds. However, he said there was a southern route to it that was often travelled by hardy souls just a handful of generations ago. That route ran almost directly between Southfarthing and Enedwaith. Just imagine the time that must have saved by not having to go through Rhudaur.
Riding along the Greenway as a child, I used to fantasize that we could just keep following it all the way down to those exotic places. I still dream of what it would be like to have again a wide, safe, navigable swath (like the Great East Road is in places) that connected Breelands to the great kingdoms. Sadly, I fear those lands in between grow more inhospitable and dangerous each day.