Egdon Heath Dorset

Hardy was a child of the Heath, who, as a middle-aged refugee from the metropolis of London, made Egdon the centre of his creative universe. Not only was The Return of the Native to become the core text of his fiction, but Egdon became the central locus of an expanding Wessex - to which he was to return time and again in his writings. Hardys early enthusiastic reading of Charles Darwin led him to reject the Wordsworthian ideal of a Beneficent Nature, and thus the heath becomes a metaphor for natures indifference to human suffering and despair: a place he considered to be absolutely in keeping with the more thinking among mankind.Haggard Egdon is best explored at twilight in an atmosphere which evokes the opening pages of The Return of the Native Rainbarrow, Mistover and Blooms-End are readily accessible on foot.

Society calendar

Upcoming events

Dates for your Diary

From 14/09/2024 until 01/08/2026
Starts 09:00 until 18:00

Stourhead House and Gardens Trip

On 28/09/2024
Starts 12:00

10th DORCHESTER LITERARY FESTIVAL

From 12/10/2024 until 19/10/2024
Starts 12:00 until 19:30

MARK CHUTTER A LITERARY WALK – WESSEX WRITERS

On 13/10/2024
Starts 12:00 until 14:00