Hardy's Cottage

Hardy's Cottage is the cob and thatch cottage at Higher Bockhampton where Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 in a house built by his great-grandfather. Hardy wrote his early works here, including Under the Greenwood Tree and Far from the Madding Crowd, and the rooms with open hearths, small windows and stone floors are furnished as his family knew them. Roses grow round the door of the cottage garden, the orchard holds old local dessert and cider apples, and next door Thorncombe Wood, a Dorset Council nature reserve, opens onto the heathland that became Hardy's Egdon Heath. Only assistance dogs are allowed inside. Reviewers single out the volunteer guides and standing in the room where Far from the Madding Crowd was written. Tips from visitors: book your tour in advance, and park at the Dorset Council car park at Thorncombe Wood, where charges apply, allowing 15 to 20 minutes' walk; the bridlepath is easier than the steep, uneven woodland path.