The land of the Hobbits east of Brandywine was under constant danger from the Old Forest to the east, and so its inhabitants had grown a great Hedge, also called the High Hay, along its eastern borders. At its northern end, the Hedge turned westwards along the East-West Road and so came down to the banks of the river. A traveller on the road wishing to enter Buckland would therefore need to pass through the Hay, whose only entrance at this northern point was a guarded gate known variously as the Hay Gate, the North-gate and the Buckland Gate.