The 'Open The Southfarthing Now' Campaign Is On !

Michel Delving District Council’s officials and Gates, Bridges & Roads department has started an informal consultation about the possible opening the  entrance to the South Farthing road to allow people to visit Longbottom, Hardbottle, Sackville and a few other villages which have been cut off from the rest of the region by the closure of the gate for sometime.

The response to the idea from local residents has been  very positive so far, and there are talk of a big rally and concert to  be held  on the 9th day of next month to push the campaign further. Some objections were those from Mrs Lobelia Sackville-Baggins and Mr Otho Sackville-Baggins of Bag End, The Hill.

Waving an umbrella during the council meeting she said: "Three corners of the Shire have been publicly accessible for generations. I believe it would be a retrograde step to open the gate to the South Farthing now."

Mrs Lobelia 's son Mr Lotho Sackville-Baggins continued : "The fact that entrance is closed demonstrates that many members of the community in the South Farthing find it convenient and preferable to keep themselves to themselves and maintain their 'independence. To open this access point to the road will give them unnecessary and unwarranted inconvenience.”

The fact the Gate's hinges are rusted and the access road to it  became muddy in recent winters is due to the local authority's failure to maintain it, he claimed. And added that residents of Sackville in the South Farthing would not look upon 'new hobbits' from the north in a good light. 

More consultations will be needed to discuss these plans however the majority of hobbits are in favor of the opening of the South Farthing gate to allow access to this hidden part of the Shire. The warm, sheltered climate of the South Farthing particularly around Longbottom, is perfect  to growing pipe-weed. And while barley, used for brewing beer, is grown in the North Farthing,the vineyards in the South Farthing where grapes grows in abundance are ideal for making wine such as the popular Old Winyards.

(article and images by Amorey Took for The Laurelin Archives)