TThe Hardy Way explores the Wessex of author Thomas Hardy, visiting many Hardy locations beginning at his birthplace near Dorchester. It takes in the Piddle and Frome valleys, an outstanding stretch of coast between Lulworth Cove and the Encombe Valley, to Corfe Castle and Dorchester, ending in Stinsford churchyard where his heart lies buried. The Hardy Way leads through beautiful Dorset and Wiltshire countryside: woodland, high ridgeways, sleepy villages, a variety of farmland, river valleys and dramatic coastal scenery along Dorset’s famous Jurassic coast, now a World Heritage Site inscribed by UNESCO for the outstanding universal value of its rocks, fossils and landforms and England’s only natural World Heritage Site The route parallels the remarkable eighteen mile pebble Chesil Bank from near Bridport to the Isle of Portland, a gigantic limestone mass near Weymouth.
Hardy Way Map
Hardy Way Interactive Map
6 Day Walking – Hardy Way
| Stage | Starting Point | Finish Point | Distance (miles) | Ascend (feet) |
| Day 1 | Hessle | South Cave | 13 | |
| Day 2 | South Cave | Goodmanham | 12 | |
| Day 3 | Goodmanham | Millington | 8.5 | |
| Day 4 | Millington | Thixendale | 12 | |
| Day 5 | Thixendale | Sherburn | 19 | |
| Day 6 | Sherburn | Filey | 17 |
OS Maps Required for Hardy Way
Hardy Way Related Book
Other National Trails
- Cleveland Way – 109 Miles
- Costwold Way – 102 Miles
- Glyndwrs Way – 135 Miles
- Hadirans Wall – 88 Miles
- North Downs Way – 153 Miles
- Pembrokeshire Coastal Path – Miles
- Pennine way – 269 Miles
- South West Coastal Path – 630 Miles