Exactly how far did Sam and Frodo walk in Lord Of The Rings?

Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Samwise (Sean Astin) reach their destination in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. (Warner Bros.)
Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Samwise (Sean Astin) reach their destination in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. (Warner Bros.)

They might have big feet, but with those little legs Hobbits Samwise Gamgee and Frodo Baggins had their work cut out trekking from Bag End to Mount Doom in JRR Tolkien's seminal The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

One thing that has always enthralled fans when picking up Tolkien’s books is the attention to geography and the maps of Middle Earth.

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Well now, thanks to one brilliantly thorough Imgur user called Mattsawizard, we can see how far those little legs had to go.

Better still he’s contextualised them with the UK.

Hobbiton to Bree: 120 miles

(Imgur)
(Imgur)

This first jaunt to the village of Bree, where Frodo first meets Aragorn, was a reasonably sturdy start, about 120 miles and 40 hours walking.

London to Nottingham, or thereabouts.

Bree to Rivendell: 300 Miles

(Imgur)
(Imgur)

This second leg was far more challenging, as the pair head to the elven outpost of Rivendell.

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It’s 300 miles, and 90 hours walking. Like Land’s End to London.

Rivendell to Moria: 175 miles

(Imgur)
(Imgur)

Upping the peril is the journey from Rivendell to Moria, the underground city of the dwarves. This was a tad lighter on the loafers, being 175 miles and 60 hours walking.

The rough distance from Manchester to London.

Lorien to Amon Hen: 300 Miles

(Imgur)
(Imgur)

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This leg was done in a boat, but still, rowing is no joke. This was 300 miles, the equivalent of Newcastle to London.

Amon Hen to the Black Gate: 160 miles

(Imgur)
(Imgur)

From Amon Hen it was on to very gate of Mordor through treacherous swampland.

It was 160 miles and 50 hours walking, like Cardiff to London.

Black Gate to Minas Morgol: 110 miles

(Imgur)
(Imgur)

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The Black Gate to the not at all fearsome fortress city of Minas Morgol was 110 miles and 35 hours walking, like Leicester to London.

Cirith Ungol to Mount Doom: 70 miles

(Imgur)
(Imgur)

The final leg was, mercifully, the shortest. A hop, skip and jump to Mount Doom being like the 70 miles from Swindon to London, 25 hours in all.

Whole journey: 1,350 miles

(Imgur)
(Imgur)

In all, the whole journey end-to-end is the same as walking from London to Niš in Serbia, 1350 miles and 440 hours on foot.

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Worth it in the end, but you can’t help thinking the Hobbitses might have binned the whole thing off had they known the walking involved.

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