The Shire is the fictional region where Hobbiton is located in J.R.R. Tolkien’s works.
The Shire is a peaceful, largely rural land in northwestern Middle-earth, inhabited primarily by Hobbits. It contains villages, farms, fields, rivers, and roads, including Hobbiton, Bywater, Michel Delving, and Tuckborough. Its familiar domestic life contrasts sharply with the wars and ancient powers beyond its borders.
Bilbo and Frodo Baggins live in Hobbiton, making the Shire the starting point for both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Frodo’s journey begins when he leaves this sheltered homeland carrying the One Ring toward Rivendell.
The Shire is not the same as Gondor or Rohan, which are human kingdoms farther south. Beleriand is an older region of Tolkien’s mythology that was destroyed near the end of the First Age. Tolkien modeled aspects of the Shire on the English countryside and on the rural landscapes familiar from his own life.