The property featured in the Telegraph’s list of the 250 Best Hotels in the UK, with its review beginning: “Evershot is the English village cliché that you can’t help but love, a checklist of stone houses, thatched roofs, horses being hacked beside the church and a ‘proper’ local pub; perhaps little has changed since Dorset author Thomas Hardy wrote it into Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Summer Lodge is set back from the thoroughfare so feels even more peaceful, and from there you can find plenty of woodland walks.”

Hardy once had a career as an architect, and he designed The Drawing Room at Summer Lodge where guests can enjoy an afternoon tea with scones topped with Dorset cream. The hotel has 25 rooms decorated with cosy, classic English decor, as well as three beautiful stone cottages. Enjoy facilities such as an indoor heated pool that’s open year-round, sauna, and tennis courts.

It’s not the only hotel in town with links to the author. The 16th-century Acorn Inn just a few steps away, and was mentioned in Tess of the d’Urbervilles. In the novel, it was renamed as The Sow & Acorn, but readers will recognise the low ceilings, flagstone floors, and solid beams that are still in place to this day.

In the Hardy universe, Evershot is renamed to Evershed, and many of the places that inspired him can be found around the village. The thatched Tess Cottage is reportedly mentioned in Tess of the D’Urbervilles, and this rustic stone cottage seems suspended in time, making you feel like you’ve stepped back into Wessex.

From Evershot, you can enjoy a number of countryside rambles through unspoilt woodland and across the rolling green hills. There’s a deer park just a short walk away that’s part of a private estate, but there are paths open to the public where you may spot playful deer frolicking in the fields.

A short drive away you’ll find the National Trust – Cerne Giant, a mysterious chalk outline of a naked man, first recorded in the 17th-century, but speculated to have been cut into the hill in ancient times.

Nearby, the village of Cerne Abbas is popular with visitors thanks to its peaceful riverside walks and sights such as Cerne Abbey. This former Benedictine monastery was founded in 987, and its long and fascinating history includes an incident where it was plundered by King Cnut. The village also has traditional pubs and quaint shops selling souvenirs and handmade crafts.

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