A Walk in Thomas Hardy's Footsteps
Length: 21km/13miles
Average time to complete: 2 days (including visits to attractions on the trail)
This is a tailor-made trail, and is packed with interest if you are a Thomas Hardy enthusiast or if you enjoy visiting stately homes and gardens. It starts in Bere Regis (called Kingsbere in Hardy's novels), where the beautiful church with its amazing carved wooden roof holds the tombs of the Turberville family. Hardy took the name and modified it, when he wrote Tess of the D'Urbervilles.
From Bere, the trail goes along a heathland ridge that was part of Egdon Heath, across which several of Hardy's characters (and Hardy himself) walked or rode. Next comes Tolpuddle (Tolchurch) and its Martyrs Museum, commemorating six farm labourers whose gentlemanly "strike" and subsequent deportation in 1833 was the forerunner to the Trades Union movement.
Less than two miles further on is Athelhampton House (Athelhall) and its beautiful formal gardens, which are open to the public. This is one of the most visited gardens in Dorset.
At the end of a short walk through Puddletown Forest lies Hardy's first home, a simple but attractive brick and thatched cottage that attracts thousands of Hardy enthusiasts every year. The woodland around Hardy's Cottage is especially beautiful, and has become a very popular nature trail.
With Dorchester coming ever closer, the trail next comes to Kingston Maurward (Knapwater House in Hardy's Desperate Remedies). Previously owned by the Pitt family, this mansion is now an agricultural college. Its attractive formal gardens, laid out in Edwardian style, and its lake are open to the public.
It is a ten minute walk from Kingston Maurward to Stinsford (Mellstock), in whose attractive churchyard Hardy's first wife and his own heart are buried. The final part of the walk leads down from Stinsford Church across a small, crystal clear stream to a grassy common, from where the whole of Dorchester (Casterbridge) can be seen. A short way beyond the common and on higher ground is the walled Max Gate, Hardy's last home, which is also open to the public.
Use our interactive map to search for nearby accommodation for walkers (www.enjoyengland.com/book/accommodation/searchresults.aspx?Sec=accommodation&advsrch=1&Rad=3&Reg=South%20West%20England&FcWkr=true&durat=1&room=1&adult=1&child=0&display=map)
Further information
This information was kindly provided by Footscape (www.footscape.co.uk/), which offers a selection of exclusive short or long walking holidays along the Jurassic Coast, with a choice of accommodation to suit different tastes and pockets.