Footscape Holidays

Thomas Hardy Walking Holiday or Tour

Our Thomas Hardy break is a very flexible walk or tour of 3 nights (2 days). You can opt for a self-guided walk or an accompanied tour (or a bit of both) and therefore do as much or as little walking as you want. It can be done on its own or combined with our Dorset Gardens tour to make a superb 5 night holiday.

For those who choose to do the full trail, it is an easy and very pleasant walk of around 13 miles (21km) over two days through beautiful countryside and attractive villages. For those who have opted to walk only part or none of the trail, the same sites are visited by car, as well as other places of interest in the area.

About the walk/tour

Please have a look at the calendar of all our scheduled group walking holidays and heritage & garden tours, so that you can choose the check-in date that suits you the best.

It is not necessary to be a Thomas Hardy buff to enjoy this holiday, but if his novels or poetry appeal to you, then you should find these two days to be a very evocative experience. The walk or tour goes to places that are closely associated with the life and work of Hardy, as well as with his famous friend, T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia).

If you click the banner on the right, please be aware that things have changed a bit since the article was written: the yellow car has been replaced with a people carrier, and the route itself has been improved. The "bear of a man" has been replaced by two new faces - one slightly less bear-like?

Accommodation and services

We will accommodate you in a B&B, inn or hotel that is situated in a village or small town in the heart of Dorset's beautiful countryside. You will be collected each morning in the Footscape vehicle to be taken to the start of your walk and picked up in the late afternoon for the return journey to your accommodation. We will give you our detailed and informative Thomas Hardy Trail Guide with all the walking instructions plus a highlighted map, as well as all other information that you might need for your holiday. If you prefer not to walk far, this holiday can also be taken as a fully guided vehicle tour.

Trail Highlights

• Hardy’s Cottage (where Hardy was born and spent 28 years of his life)
• Max Gate, the house designed by Hardy where he lived from 1885 till his death in 1928
• The attractive hamlet of Stinsford (Mellstock) and its church, where Hardy’s family is buried and his own heart lies alongside his first wife
• Lawrence’s interesting and unusual small cottage (Clouds Hill) and his grave at Moreton
• Two beautiful churches: one at Bere Regis with its amazing 15th century roof, and the other at Moreton with its superb hand-engraved plain glass windows
• Dorset Museum, with the largest Hardy collection in the world and a reconstruction of his study, including his furniture, notebooks, photographs and manuscripts.