Sturminster Newton

Sturminster Newton is a town whose greatest civic achievement was a cattle market so vast that people came from across Europe to look at cows, and which then knocked it down. Thomas Hardy lived here for two years, wrote a novel about somewhere else, and left. What survives is a mill that has been grinding flour since before the Norman Conquest and a bridge with a plaque threatening to deport anyone who scratches it, which tells you everything about how seriously this place takes continuity. It is genuinely lovely, and if you need something open after six you will want to bring it with you.