Sturminster Newton

Sturminster Newton sits at the centre of Thomas Hardy's 'Vale of Little Dairies'. Regarded locally as 'the capital of the Blackmore Vale' this long-established market town has an acclaimed creamery which produces prize winning traditional and continental cheeses.

From the town's quiet side streets, signposted walks lead out to tranquil riverside meadows beside the Stour.The Hardy Way and Hardy Trail visit 'Stourcastle' on their tour of the Dorset-born writer's Wessex. Thomas Hardy lived with his first wife, Emma, at Riverside Villas in Sturminster Newton between 1876 and 1878 and there penned his famous novel 'The Return of the Native'. A few miles north is the village of Marnhull, which featured as 'Marlott' in 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles'. Here, the Pure Drop Inn served a 'very pretty brew in tap'.

Today it is better known as the Crown Hotel. Sturminster Newton's Town Bridge is a notable example of a fine medieval bridge. Fiddleford Manor, near Sturminster Newton is a beautifully restored Elizabethan manor house containing splendidly carved and cusped wooden roof beams.

The part 17th Century Sturminster Newton Mill is a notable surviving watermill, one of 40 originally used to work the Stour and its tributaries, which has been restored to full working order and on occasion, corn is still ground here.