Bucklebury Ferry (scene)

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Bucklebury Ferry
Scene from
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring - Bucklebury Ferry.jpg
Scene number11 (theatrical edition)
14 (extended edition)
Duration 2:17
Event The four hobbits escape the Black Riders across the Brandywine
Characters Frodo, Samwise, Merry, Pippin, Ringwraith
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Bucklebury Ferry is eleventh scene of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and the fourteenth scene of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (extended edition).

Synopsis[edit | edit source]

Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin hide from a Black Rider searching the Old Forest. Frodo tells Merry that he must go to Bree, and Merry tells him to make for Bucklebury Ferry. The Hobbits run from the Black Rider through the forest as night falls. Eventually, the Hobbits reach the Ferry and barely manage to cut it loose from the docks before the Ringwraiths catch up. As they float away, the Ringwraith veers off to follow the river to the Brandywine Bridge, 20 miles away. The hobbits soon disembark and make their way to Bree.

Differences[edit | edit source]

  • In the book, Merry is not with the other hobbits for the first part of their journey and only meets up with them at Bucklebury Ferry.
  • In the book, the hobbits are given a ride to the ferry by Farmer Maggot in his wagon after eating at Maggot's house.
  • Tom Bombadil, the Barrow-wight, and associated events are omitted entirely. This is done due to time constraints and to simplify an already complex story. Outside of the Scouring of the Shire, this is perhaps the biggest omission of anything in the books. Some of Tom Bombadil's dialogue survives in other scenes, but there is no mention of him at all. Likewise, the Barrow-wight is entirely absent. The only artifact of its presence at all are the daggers that Aragorn will give Frodo and company later in the film.
  • In the books, the Hobbits are not nearly as panicked at the ferry, and only one rider slowly arrives at the dock as they are already leaving.
  • While the book originally stated that the Brandywine Bridge was 20 miles distant from the ferry, this was corrected to 10 miles in the 50th anniversary edition.