Hardy was a 'landscape novelist' who 'painted' enduring pictures of a real outdoor world that formed the stage on which his characters lived out their lives. It is not surprising therefore that ever since his novels became popular people have sought to find the real locations of his iconic settings. Hardy drew on many locations for inspiration but often combined them, or moved them 'by a Witches mile' so locating some of them is a matter of interpretation. Although there are many books devoted to "Thomas Hardy's Wessex" we found two particularly helpful: 'The Landscape of Thomas Hardy' by Denys Kay-Robinson, published by Webb & Bower in 1984 which is quite excellent and 'Hardy's Landscape Revisited' by Tony Fincham, published by Robert Hale in 2010.