The towering
memorial to a long dead admiral might seem a strange place to start a day out
in Dorset tracking down T.E. Lawrence, the archaeologist, diplomat and soldier
remembered as Lawrence of Arabia. The Hardy Monument stands high on a hill just
north of Portesham, not far off the B3157 between West Bay and Weymouth, and was
erected in memory of Thomas Mastermann Hardy, who had famously served with
Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar. Its panoramic views and remembrance of a
great British hero seemed somehow fitting and I like to think it was a place Lawrence
would have visited on one of his many motorcycling jaunts around Dorset.
From the
Hardy Monument I set out north along Portesham Hill and then Coombe Road before
joining the A35 on its journey around the outskirts of Dorchester. I was on my
way to visit the home of another Thomas Hardy, this time the writer and friend
of Lawrence, who lived at Max Gate, just off the A352 to the south of the town.
Lawrence
visited Max Gate many times while he served with the Royal Tank Regiment at Bovingdon,
riding his Brough Superior from his home at Clouds Hill or from the camp itself.
Out of respect, I’m on my 2011 Triumph Rocket 3 Touring, but who am I trying to
kid: if Triumph had been Lawrence's choice, he would be on the latest 2.5 litre
roadster. I didn’t stop for long, although tours were available, but instead headed
down the A352 to Wareham. In many ways today was all about arriving and it
wasn’t long before I came to the Rainbow Garage Café at East Knighton. A great
breakfast was served in what can only be described as a bikers' café. It was
also in just the right place, because up a side road leading from the café was
the Countryman Inn, one of Lawrence’s favourite haunts. I put my nose in the
door simply to say that I’d been in the very pub Lawrence himself used.
Wareham is a lovely little town on the River Frome, close
to Poole Harbour, where there’s a museum with Lawrence exhibits, plenty of
shops to wander around, lots of eateries and the Saxon church, St
Martins-on-the-Walls, where a tomb effigy of Lawrence lies in one of the isles.
You could easily spend a day in Wareham, but for me it was back along the A352 to
the B3070 at Holmebridge, a road that would carry me to Lulworth. The Rocket
was enjoying the sweeping roads but now it would be tested on what is at times a
spectacular high bit of tarmac but also a narrow and uneven one. It’s also a
road you are not permitted to ride on many days during the year, as the Lulworth
tank firing range is very close and often active. Weekends and school holidays
are best (google, Lulworth Firing Times).
We climbed and weaved our way across the top, the big girl
being surprisingly nimble for a motorcycle that refuses to entertain mini
roundabouts. There were other routes on the ranges - dropping down into Tyneham,
a once bustling village that has been deserted since WW2, for example – but
they were not for the Rocket. A right turn at East Lulworth took me back up to
Wool on the B3071 and the area where Lawrence would spend the last years of his
life, and the place where he was fatally injured. In May 1935, Lawrence was
riding his Brough Superior SS100 from Wool to Clouds Hill along what was then known
as Tank Park Road. He lost control of the bike, allegedly swerving to avoid a
collision with a couple of young cyclists, and died of his injuries in the days
that followed.
I made my way up to the site of the crash by passing through
Wool, crossing the A352 onto Tout Hill and then following signs to the Tank
Museum. A ticket for the museum allows multi-visits for a year from purchase,
and I had one, but time was getting on, so I forgot about the café, the excellent
exhibits and restoration centre and continued to King George V Road, where I
turned right towards Clouds Hill. There’s a gravel car park on the right that
provides a viewing point beside a tank manoeuvring area and some information boards
about the different types of vehicles you might see and about Lawrence. Behind them,
and close to the road, you’ll find a small stone monument near to the spot
where Lawrence had crashed.
Clouds Hill is not much farther, from where I rode, turning
left and then left again a couple of miles later, down into Moreton on the
B3090. This is where Lawrence is buried. The church is worth a visit - if only
for the engraved windows commissioned after a stray bomb damaged the building during
WW2 - but Lawrence’s grave is in a churchyard on Hurst Road a few hundred yards
away. My search for Lawrence ended here and I headed back to Dorchester and
home. There were other places I could have visited in my quest, Corfe Castle,
for instance, a place often frequented by Lawrence and the location of one of
his many motorcycle accidents. I could have ranged farther, to Southampton, where
Lawrence served with the RAF. I could have sought out the Moreton Tea Rooms,
where the bier that carried his coffin now doubles as the dessert trolley.
But I didn’t. I’ll go back again I’m sure and delve further;
there’s still so much to discover. As I ride away it pleases me to think that I’ve
paid homage to the great man by following him around Dorset. There’s been much
debate about Lawrence, and speculation about his personal life and the exact
circumstances of his death, but to me these are a distraction. Lawrence was a
brave adventurer, a man of honour, justifiably a national hero, and an
individualist. He was also a motorcyclist.
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