The Hardy Way explores the Wessex of the author Thomas Hardy, visiting many of the places that shaped his novels and poems. It begins at his birthplace near Dorchester and ends in Stinsford churchyard, where his heart is buried.

Rivers and coast. The route follows the Piddle and Frome valleys before reaching an outstanding stretch of the Dorset coast between Lulworth Cove and the Encombe Valley, then continues to Corfe Castle. Dorset’s Jurassic Coast is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and England’s only natural one, recognised for its rocks, fossils and landforms.

Countryside. Inland, the trail passes through Dorset and south Wiltshire, with woodland, high ridgeways, sleepy villages, farmland and river valleys. Later it runs alongside the 18-mile pebble ridge of Chesil Bank, from near Bridport towards the Isle of Portland and Weymouth.

Waymarking. The route is signed with the letters HW on green waymarking discs, and was re-waymarked in summer 2015. The stages below are a suggested 18-day itinerary; the walk can equally be split into shorter sections and walked as day trips.

Terrain. The trail follows mainly footpaths, tracks and bridleways, with a few unavoidable stretches of lane and road. It is graded as challenging, and the Blackmore Vale area of north Dorset can be very muddy after wet weather.

Sharing the path. Between Beaminster and West Bay, through Bridport, the Hardy Way runs mostly along the same path as the Brit Valley Way for about 8 miles. It also meets or crosses the South West Coast Path, the Wessex Ridgeway, the Jubilee Trail, the Purbeck Way, the Stour Valley Way and the Cranborne Droves Way.

History and guidebook. The route was devised by Margaret Marande, who wrote the guidebook Hardy Way: A 19th Century Pilgrimage (updated in 2015). It became a county footpath in 1998, with waymarking help from the Ramblers, and was opened at Max Gate, Hardy’s home in Dorchester.