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Escape 'Far from the Madding Crowd' in Hardy Country

Hardy Country in Dorset is home to Thomas Hardy's Birthplace and his later home, Max Gate. Few authors have such strong associations with the natural and cultural heritage of their local area as Thomas Hardy.  His semi-fictional Wessex - inspired by the landscape surrounding Dorchester - was the setting for many of his novels, short stories and poetry.

You can visit the small cob and thatch cottage where Hardy was born and wrote his early novels. He later designed Max Gate, where he lived from 1885 until his death in 1928. For the first time these two houses, along with Clouds Hill - home to Lawrence of Arabia, a close friend of Hardy - are open to visitors five days a week, until October 30.