Halfway from here to Rivendell

I first read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings many years ago and the thing that struck me then - as it does now listening to the audio book in my car - was the great descriptions of the landscapes. Tolkien conjures up fantastic images of a bucolic, rustic world untarnished by progress (though it still has beer and pubs!) - and one that I think we'd all like to ramble on through without having to rush.