Bolton has been transformed into The Shire in a beautifully drawn map inspired by the Lord of the Rings bringing fantasy and magic to the town.

Daubhill to Doffcocker, Breightmet to Hall i' th' Wood, Bolton has its fair share of fictional sounding place names

And now the town has been incorporated in The Tolkienesque-style map of Greater Manchester.

And it also features Heaton, where Sir Ian Mckellen who played Gandalf, went to school - Bolton School

The Bolton News: The entire Greater Manchester mapThe entire Greater Manchester map (Image: Chris Birse)

The piece was drawn by Chris Birse, of Teesside, who has previously drawn around 50 similar maps and is on a full-time quest to transform other places into 'Shires'.

He said: "This isn't the first one I've done. I made a map of Teesside four years ago and posted it online for the craic. From there it snowballed to the point where I quit my manager role at Aldi and started doing this full time. 

"This will be around the 50th one that I've done, I have done 40-odd counties and 10 countries from around the world. 

"I just did it for a bit of fun initially, but it got more popular as years went on and I couldn't juggle drawing this and working full time. 

The Bolton News: Chris and his daughter, RobynChris and his daughter, Robyn (Image: Public)

"So one of them had to go, and it was work - although this is work in itself. Each one takes 80-odd hours to draw." 

He added: "It is drawn by hand on a tablet using photoshop. I can't actually draw using a pen and paper to save my life! 

Read more: 'Nerd' reveals what the Tube would look like in Bolton 

Read more: Rivington is like a 'mini Lake District' - the history behind the popular area

The Bolton News: Bolton's own Ian McKellen playing GandalfBolton's own Ian McKellen playing Gandalf

"I wanted to tackle somewhere more urban. A lot of counties around the UK are largely countryside. 

"I wanted to try urban and see what the history is in the area. I knew that Manchester had a big Roman history and thought it would be an interesting one to delve into. 

"There was one in particular, one of Bolton's pubs, Ye Old Man and Scythe, which is apparently one of the oldest in the country. Pubs are generally too small, but given its history I had to have that one in." 

To buy the Greater Manchester map, visit Chris' Etsy at this link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1656883489/greater-manchester-print-manchester

The Bolton News: A still from Lord of the Rings: The Rings of PowerA still from Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Image: PA)

He said: "A few asked for the Cigarette Tunnel, as well as some local cairns to the north and mounds, barrows that were popularly requested, all that is in. 

"Also close by is Nob End, lots of people asked for that.

"I would just like to say thank you to those who helped me. I can't make these without input from residents on Reddit, Facebook, and everyone's contributions. 

"If I Googled the top 50 landmarks in a place, I would still never get some of the things residents give me."