Thomas Hardy’s Cottage

I have been longing to revisit ‘Thomas Hardy’s’ cottage here in Dorset. The cottage is Hardy’s rural childhood home. As soon as it re-opened (it’s been closed through the covid lockdowns) I booked my visit slot on the National Trust website. I turned up on a rainy Sunday at the visitor centre carpark and enjoyed a 15 minute stroll through the woods up to the cottage. The cottage is nestled below the woodland with a beautiful cottage garden tended by NT volunteers with a mix of cottage planting and vegetable beds. You enjoy a 15 minute talk hearing the history of the cottage and Thomas Hardy’s childhood & family life and the start of his literary career, and then enjoy the rest of your timed slot exploring the cottage & gardens. A truly lovely place to visit here in Dorset.

National Trust- Thomas Hardy’s cottage In Dorset

Interior details at the cottage looking out into the cottage garden

The interior of the cottage was beautiful with window views looking out onto the garden. The open fire was lit as it was a cold and rainy July day, making it even more cosy.

A cottage garden of dreams

I Particularly loved the cottage gardens with cottage garden planting combined with vegetable beds & fruit trees, looking across to the cottage..

Cottage window view

A Summer bouquet of flowers picked from the cottage garden