Dorchester

Hardy's county town sits in a chalk valley where the River Frome meanders through water meadows, looking much as it did when the novelist penned his Wessex tales. Dorchester feels proper old England - Georgian terraces line tree-lined avenues, and the weekly market still draws farmers from surrounding villages.

The Hardy connection runs deep here. His birthplace cottage at Higher Bockhampton lies just three miles east, while Max Gate, where he wrote Tess and Jude, sits on the town's edge. But Dorchester's story stretches far beyond literature. Roman walls still encircle parts of the town centre, and Maiden Castle, Britain's largest Iron Age hillfort, dominates the skyline to the southwest.

From here, the Jurassic Coast beckons. Ringstead Bay offers fossil hunting without the Lyme Regis crowds, while White Nothe provides cracking cliff-top walks. The coastline here feels wilder than further east - St Catherine's by the Sea stands dramatically on the headland, and Wallis Cove nature reserve protects rare seabirds.

Weymouth lies twelve miles south, but Dorchester makes a far better base for exploring inland Dorset. Poxwell Big Wood offers lovely walks through ancient woodland, and the countryside around here inspired some of Hardy's most famous scenes.

The A35 brings you straight into town from London in under three hours, while the railway connects directly to Waterloo. Staying at one of the holiday parks between here and the coast gives you quick access to both Dorchester's literary heritage and the dramatic clifftops. The town can get busy during the summer tourist season, but midweek it returns to its unhurried market town pace.