VISITORS are being offered a taste of the past at the birthplace of Dorset’s most famous literary son, Thomas Hardy.

The National Trust team at Hardy’s Cottage at Higher Bockhampton will be taking on the challenge of cooking the recipes that the writer’s mother cooked him every Friday morning throughout July and August from 11am to 2pm.

The cottage was the author and poet’s childhood home. His family were builders and stonemasons, meaning that they ate the basic staples of the Victorian diet – bread and cheese – as well as less familiar dishes, like kettle broth and furmity.

Visitors will be able to discover and taste these unusual and, in some cases, unrecognisable recipes from the past. It is just one of a number of activities and events taking place at the venue this summer.

Harriet Still, visitor experience officer for Hardy’s Cottage said: “The ‘Jemima’s Cookbook’ cooking demonstrations are part of a wider programme, looking at how a family in rural, Victorian Dorset would have fed themselves.

“Visitors are also invited to get involved by potting up vegetable seeds to take home and grow on, or attending talks on beekeeping by our gardener, Caps Browning- Smith. On July 21 and August 19, between 1pm and 4pm, there are also performances of traditional music and storytelling by local performer, Tim Laycock.”

Hardy’s Cottage is open five days a week during 2016, from 11am to 5pm on Wednesdays to Sundays with last admissions at 4.15pm.

All of the activities offered at the National Trust run property are free. Normal admission charges apply with National Trust members going free