By bus and train

In the past, each time I have been to Dorset I have tried to re-read one or two Hardy novels and then gone on some sort of trail, taking in some of the places he used. A bit sad, but it has taken us to some interesting places we would not otherwise have found. This week I’ve been reading The Mayor of Casterbridge, which I have read many times before, and we decided to go to Dorchester. We took a bus from Swanage to Wareham and a train from Wareham to Dorchester. Two great journeys. In the past we have always driven into Dorchester – this was far preferable.

 
We did a sort of trail round the town – here is the Kings Arms where, through ‘a spacious bow-window projected into the street over the main portico’, Susan Henchard saw the husband who had sold her many years ago, now Mayor of the town, at a ‘great public dinner of the gentle-people and such like leading folk’.
 
And here is the house on which Hardy based Henchard’s house – ‘ one of the best, faced with dull red-and-grey old brick’.
 
And here is the Maumbury Ring, an astonishing Roman amphitheatre, which Hardy used for secret, almost sinister meetings in the novel.
 

We briefly visited the Museum, having discovered that we could get in free with our Art Passes, which was a nice surprise. There is a there a reconstruction of Hardy’s study as it was at Max Gate – quite fascinating. At the moment there is a special exhibition based around the soon to be released film of Far From the Madding Crowd. These are some of the costumes that were used in the film. I’m looking forward to seeing the film eventually, but can it possibly match the 1967 version with Julie Christie/ Terence Stamp/Alan Bates – I’m not at all sure!!

Thank you to everyone who has shown concern, offered advice and, in some cases, empathised with my back problem. It is now much improved I'm glad to say.