Having returned from the Corfe Castle/Swanage excursion, via a nice meal at Wetherspoons in Dorchester, I decided to undertake a 12-14 mile round trip from Wool to Owermoigne.
But what made me risk life and limb for hours on an A-road pursuing an obscure Dorset village at sunset?
Well, Owermoigne is the model setting that Thomas Hardy had in mind for his short story, The Distracted Preacher, from his Wessex Tales collection.
In the short tale, a young Mr. Stockdale arrives in a small village to fill in for the local Methodist minister, but comes to pine for his landlady, Lizzy Newbury who leads a mysterious life, staying up at odd hours and speaking in whispered tones.
Moreover, Mr. Stockdale not only finds out that Lizzy is the head of a big liquor-smuggling operation from the not too distant sea shore, but becomes involved in it himself, against his formal religious conscience.
If my memory serves me correctly, the liquor is actually hidden in the church tower:
Like with much Hardy, I read the story years ago.
As things transpired, after an over two-hour walk, I arrived at Owermoigne exactly at sundown, and in the semi-darkness, I was able to imagine a Victorian liquor-smuggling occurring in such a setting:
Not sure if it happens in the story, but I started imagining there being smuggling tunnels between the old village houses and church.
Underneath the village green:
While walking to and back from Owermoigne, I viewed the (out of use) bus stop below as a symbol of the almost crazy nature of my walk:
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