A Birmingham nature reserve credited with providing inspiration for the works of JRR Tolkien was awarded a £376,500 grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund today.
Birmingham's Moseley Bog, where the creator of The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit played as a child in the 1890s, will use the funding to restore aspects of the site and improve public access.
The reserve is thought to have been the inspiration for Tolkien's mystical Old Forest and is also home to a scheduled ancient monument dating back to the Bronze Age.
The Heritage Lottery Fund said a new open air performance and education space would be created as part of the project, providing a hub for community events and courses.
Part of the Moseley Bog and Joy's Wood Nature Reserve was once used as a tip, but it is now designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation.
Katie Foster, chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund's West Midlands committee, said: "We are delighted to play a major part in safeguarding and improving an area beloved by so many people in the region - and connected with such a well known writer whose childhood heritage here influenced his writing, now known worldwide."
Improvements at the council-owned bog will include hedgerow and meadow restoration, as well as improvements to boardwalks, steps, pathways, and signage.
Neil Wyatt, chief executive of the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country, said the successful application for Lottery funding would protect one of the UK's most important urban nature reserves.
"This is a remarkable reserve on its own merit, yet this place means so much to so many people, in so many different ways," he said.
"It inspired Tolkien, and it has inspired local people to stand up for their local green spaces across the country."
