A walk around Thomas Hardy country near Dorchester.
It is hard to think about Dorset without picturing the evocative landscapes created by one of Britain’s greatest writers, Thomas Hardy.
In his novels and poems Hardy created a “partly real, partly dream” county that he named ‘Wessex’, based upon the places where he grew up.
This walk goes through the heart of Hardy’s Wessex including picturesque hamlets and working farms, humble cottages and grand manor houses, water meadows and heathlands, fertile fields and whispering woods.
As you are walking, discover how these places inspired Hardy’s writing, at a time when Britain’s countryside was at the point of rapid change. See how this area of rural Dorset is adapting to changing times today.
Location: Higher Bockhampton, Dorset
Start and finish point: Thorncombe Wood car park, Higher Bockhampton, DT2 8QJ
A Thomas Hardy Society walk.
