The skies are huge, the browns, greens and burnished yellows of the heath striking. It is not much of a leap to imagine a Thomas Hardy character striding through the heather, heading for a tragic end.
More than 200 acres of this dramatic landscape – Slepe Heath in Dorset, Hardy’s homeland and thought to be an inspiration for Egdon Heath in The Return of the Native – has been acquired by the National Trust and is being restored to the glory that inspired the great writer.