This 4-5 mile, mid-morning walk was incredibly pleasant on an early summer's day. In 'The Hardy Way', Margaret Marande (2015: 92) explains the significance of Blackmore Vale:
". . . this is above all Tess country, where she spent her childhood and which was terribly
beautiful to her . . . It was the age before motor transport and The Vale of Blackmoor was to her
the world . . ."
We passed several Anglican churches, dotted in the villages, along the way:
My friend, Dave, was fascinated by the outdoor church bell below, and had to ring it once to see if it worked:
Margaret Marande (2015: 92) again aptly summarises the significance of the Shaftesbury-Marnhull walk:
"Tess trod the road from Shaston to Marlott (Marnhull) when she returned from the d'Urberville
mansion - such distances being the norm for pedestrians in those days".
One of the most colourful things we saw during the journey was the set-up below (the whole of the garden and house seemed to be decorated like this:
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