By Hardy's Cottage and 'Egdon Heath'

You can't go far in Dorset without coming across references to novelist and poet Thomas Hardy (1840-1928). Writing about a rural scene that was already vanishing at the end of the 19th century, he did more than anybody to establish an identity for the county, which he thinly disguised as a fictional Wessex. His complicated tales of thwarted desire and human failing, littered with memorable, realistic characters and evocative descriptions of recognisable places, have become literary classics.

Hardy was born at Higher Bockhampton in the cottage built by his great grandfather, set in a lovely garden. The cottage is now owned by the National Trust, however a much better collection of Hardy relics is held in Dorchester's museum, which includes a re-creation of his study. Hardy went to school locally and later in Dorchester. He joined his father playing fiddle in the lively Stinsford church band. Apprenticed as an architect, he befriended the dialect poet William Barnes, but it was several years before his own poetry started to appear in print.

In 1867 he retired to Dorset for health reasons and began writing seriously. His first published novel was Desperate Remedies (1871), swiftly followed by Under the Greenwood Tree (1872), A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873) and Far From the Madding Crowd (1874). Riding on the success of this last book he married Emma Gifford and they lived for a time at Sturminster Newton. Success followed success, and the highlights of this profitable period include The Return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), The Woodlanders (1887, Hardy's own declared favourite), Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891) and Jude the Obscure (1895).

In 1885 Hardy and his wife moved to the home he had designed at Max Gate, on the outskirts of Dorchester (his Casterbridge), and he remained there for the rest of his life. Emma died, estranged and childless, in 1912, and two years later Thomas married Florence Dugdale. In 1928, when he died, Hardy was a celebrated grand old man of letters, in fact, a national treasure. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. He had requested that his heart, however, be buried in Stinsford (his Mellstock) churchyard, and so, unusually, he has two graves, the latter lying between the tombs of his two wives.

The Hardy influence is still strong in Dorset. Fact and fiction become blurred in 'Tess's Cottage', and many pubs proudly identify themselves as their fictional counterpart. A long distance footpath, the Hardy Way, links many of his favourite sites.

While you're there

Visit the formal Edwardian gardens and extensive parkland of Kingston Maurwood. They include a rose garden, a Japanese garden, an outstanding double herbaceous border and an unusual red garden. The Georgian house is now occupied by an agricultural college. There's also a lively farm animal park (including llamas) for children to enjoy and a visitor centre.

Where to eat and drink

The Greenwood tea rooms and restaurant occupy a beautifully restored, thatched barn, right beside the car park. The restaurant is part of Greenwood Grange Farm self-catering complex, converted from barns built by Hardy's father. Benches and tables outside overlook a landscaped garden and pond. Inside it's light and airy, with a central fire in winter. The food is freshly cooked and there are delicious chocolate cakes and pastries to have with your tea. Children are very welcome, but dogs must stay outside.

What to look for

As you turn up from the watercourse towards Stinsford church, look left for the unusual sight of pictorial thatch. What looks like a bear and other animals have been carved into the newly thatched roofs of a cottage and its garage. In the churchyard look out for the big slate tombstone of Poet Laureate Cecil Day-Lewis (1904-72), who also wrote popular detective novels under the pseudonym Nicholas Blake.