With intimate chalk stream valleys and wide open windswept downs, it feels like time has stopped still here.
But this ride doesn’t dwell on Hardy’s lifetime – the chalk has been a big draw for 1000s of years and there’s a much deeper story to tell. You can tick off remnants of ancient farming, an abbey, Capability Brown landscape, medieval estates and even the birthplace of the trade union movement.
This is an eclectic slice of Dorset history … exercise for the mind as well as the body.
