TravelCent

Literary Dorset

Jane Austen was inspired by Dorset, England. So was Thomas Hardy and ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’, by John Fowles, was filmed her. As an English Major, I thought it would be nice to personally check out why these authors were so inspired, so I made reservations a the Dorset Hotel for a few day, during my whirlwind writers tour of England.

I found Dorset to have a varied and rich landscape. I found The Cobh’ at Lyme Regis, this is where Meryl Streep walked in that famous scene. That were I decided to start my walk. I didn’t get far when I encountered places immortalised by Hardy with his novel, ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’. I found this place to be a very appropriate description of all the villages that lie amongst the pristine hidden valleys and rolling hills of Dorset.

I followed the coast as it reached eastward to Charmouth, which really doesn’t have any novels associated with it, but the walk is exquisite, so I continued on and saw fossil-encrusted cliffs. About 190 meters more I came across orange sandstone. Later I found out it was called the Golden Gap, it’s the highest point on the south coast of England. There really wasn’t any more references to literature, but I still had some time to explore. I came across a British hill fort which the placard read: The Maiden Castle. It was sacked by Romans in 70AD. Hm… I wonder if I can turn this area into a reference point in my novel? It’s a good possibility. I mean, why not continue the Dorset literature tradition? My novel might just extend this literature walk all the way to where I am now. Or, I could reference the next place on my hike, Dorchester and the medieval tithe barn of Abbotsbury. Yes, now I see why all those authors were inspired.

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