Explore the UK's literary inspirations - The UK has a rich literary history. Explore the landscapes that inspired our best writers and visit some local museums dedicated to their work.

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Dorset - Thomas Hardy set of all his major novels in the fictional county of Wessex. The area is based on Dorset, where Hardy was born and raised.

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Dorset - Novels such as ‘Jude the Obscure’ and ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ have rural settings that mirror Dorset locations such as Wareham Forest.

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Dorset - Visiting Dorset is as close as you can get to going to Wessex.

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Laugharne - Laugharne was the inspiration for Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. He wasn’t born there, but spent a good deal of his life in the small town.

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Laugharne - Thomas called Laugharne “the strangest town in Wales” when he first arrived, The Culture Trip notes. However, he soon made a home out of the town's ferry house, The Boathouse.

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Laugharne - Thomas wrote classic poems like ‘Over Sir John’s Hill’ and ‘Do Not Go Gentle’ in Laugharne.

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Northern Ireland - Irish poet Seamus Heaney was born in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. There, he wrote about the natural world and politics through his complex poems.

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Northern Ireland - Heaney’s collections like ‘Door Into the Dark’ and ‘Death of a Naturalist’ focus on the Irish rural experience.

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Northern Ireland - Heaney’s later work, such as ‘Field Work’, address The Troubles.

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Alloway - Up in Scotland, Robert Burns is celebrated on January 25, his birthday. The poet hails from Alloway in South Ayrshire.

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Alloway - You can visit Burns’s childhood home, which is now known as Burns Cottage.

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Alloway - The Robert Burns Birthplace Museum is another spot for avid fans of Scotland’s national poet.

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The Lake District - The Lake District is the UK’s largest national park. It also inspired authors like Beatrix Potter and William Wordsworth.

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The Lake District - Wordsworth was born and raised in Cockermouth. You can revisit his life at the excellent Wordsworth Museum, which features his former home, Dove Cottage.

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The Lake District - Beatrix Potter frequented a holiday home, Hill Top Farm, in Near Sawrey. You can check out her work at the World of Beatrix Potter Attraction.

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London - Countless authors have made London their home and literary setting. But Charles Dickens stands out as the novelist who depicted London with incredible attention to detail.

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London - Dickens depicted London’s chaotic Victorian era in novels like ‘Oliver Twist’, ‘David Copperfield’ and ‘Great Expectations’.

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London - You can explore Dickensian London at the Charles Dickens Museum, a place dedicated to telling the author’s fascinating life story.

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Somerset - Jane Austen hails from Hampshire but Somerset was the place that moulded the novelist’s creative vision.

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Somerset - Austen resided in Bath from 1801 to 1806. There, she found herself in complicated relationships that were reflected in novels like ‘Emma’ and ‘Persuasion’.

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Somerset - Pay a visit to Bath’s Jane Austen Centre for a comprehensive look at the novelist’s incredible life.

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Yorkshire - The highly-admired Brontë sisters were from West Riding, in Yorkshire. There, the three writers created intricate stories about love and loss.

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Yorkshire - Emily Brontë depicted the romantic gloom of Yorkshire in ‘Wuthering Heights’, with protagonist Heathcliff wandering the melancholic moors. The moors are otherwise known as Brontë Country.

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Yorkshire - Step into the sisters’ world at The Brontë Parsonage Museum. The site is located at their former home in Haworth.

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West Midlands - J. R. R. Tolkien lived in the West Midlands for much of his life. It was one of the locations that informed the creation of Middle Earth for ‘The Lord of the Rings’.

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West Midlands - You can check out the author’s legacy and records at the Tolkien Trail in Hurst Green, which leads visitors to the locations that shaped his magical world.

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West Midlands - Places that inspired Tolkien's works include Sarehole Mill, Moseley Bog, and St. Anne’s Church.

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Torquay - Agatha Christie is famously linked to the seaside town of Torquay.

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Torquay - The ‘Poirot’ author spent a lot of her life in the area, specifically the small estate of Greenway.

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Torquay - You can attend the Agatha Christie Festival and Agatha Christie Literary Trail to find out more about the novelist’s connection to Torquay.

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