The Shire

The Shire was a peaceful and bountiful land in Eriador in northwestern Middle-earth. The race of people known as Hobbits lived there, largely forgotten by the outside world until events at the end of the Third Age brought them and their land to the attention of powers both good and evil. The Shire was 40 leagues (120 miles) across from the Far Downs on its western edge to the Brandywine River on the east. From north to south it stretched 50 leagues (150 miles) from the northern moors to the southern marshes.