New on eBay, an evocative ‘shire’ postcard of a site near to Tolkien’s Great Haywood. Located about two miles south-east.

The Google Maps search result is deceptive, unable to locate the hill it sends you instead to a road and a school, making it look like the hill has been built up as a housing estate. It hasn’t. Since a little searching finds that the hill is still there. With the help of the local M.P., in 2018 the Friends Of Etching Hill fought off an unwanted Forestry Commission plantation proposal and…

“established that the Hill is classed as common land / village green and that the management as such, should be left in the hands of the Charitable Trustees, who are supported by volunteers from the Friends Of Etching Hill.”

Other basic information…

“the hill itself rises steeply to 454 feet above sea level and is 100 feet above the houses of the village”.

“a well-known viewpoint on the north-eastern edge of Cannock Chase, with a distinctive, flat sandstone top”.

I’ve no idea if Tolkien knew it, but it would have made a pleasant stop on a three-mile road walk from Great Haywood – Little Haywood – Rugeley.