Monday 27th July 2026
Starts 13:30 until 17:30
Top o Town Car Park, Bridport Rd, Dorchester DT1 1XT

The Trumpet Major Tour

The Osmington White Horse in 1883

Visit scenes from Hardy's historical novel

Tour guide, Alban O'Brien

Date: Monday, 27th July 2026

Time: The coach leaves Top o' Town car park at 1.30pm, returning around 5.30pm.

Cost: £20 Conference ticket holders

£22 THS members

£25 Non members

Meet: Top o Town Car Park, Dorchester

This coach tour is part of the 2026 THS Conference Programme

Priority booking is given to Conference ticket holders

Booking open to others from 2nd June 2026 (subject to availability)

BOOK ONLINE

Led by Alban O’Brien, this afternoon coach tour with stops for readings and photo-opportunities will be a series of visits associated with Hardy’s one historical novel.

We will visit Hardy’s monument on Back Down hill for a view over Portland and the Dorset coast with readings exploring the connection between Nelson’s flag captain at Trafalgar and our own Thomas Hardy, stop for a photo-opportunity in Portesham where Bob Loveday walked to enlist in Nelson’s navy, then onto Weymouth (Hardy’s Budmouth) for readings associated with George III and finally on to Sutton Poyntz (Hardy’s Overcombe) which was the home of Anne Garland, the miller and his two sons.

On our return to Dorchester, we will stop briefly at Poxwell Manor (Oxwell), the home of Squire Derriman and his obnoxious nephew Festus for a photo-opportunity. This will be an on-off tour with short walks and plenty of opportunity for chat about The Trumpet Major and Hardy’s lifelong obsession with the Napoleonic Wars.

Please Note: Those that have booked for both The Trumpet Major Tour and the evening performance at Poxwell Manor, will have the option of having dinner at The Smuggler's Inn at Osmington Mills (payable separately). However, please note that the coach is unable to fully access the lane leading to The Smuggler's Inn so there will be a 10-minute road walk before and after dinner to/from the drop-off point.

Thomas Hardy’s only historical novel, The Trumpet Major, was published in 1880. Drawing from library research and family memories, Hardy blended fact and fiction to create the novel set during the Napoleonic Wars. It was a time when Britain faced the real danger of invasion, and King George III spent his summers in Weymouth.

At this time, around 11,000 troops were camped in the South Dorset area as part of the coastal defense against a potential French invasion. King George III regularly reviewed these troops on the downs near Sutton Poyntz and Osmington. The Osmington White Horse, a chalk figure of King George III on horseback, was cut into the hillside in 1808 to commemorate his visits to the area.