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Puddletown sits just off the A35, about five miles east of Dorchester, occupying a point where the landscape starts to shift from the chalk downs into the edge of the Dorchester heathlands. Historically known as Piddletown – a name that still appears on some older records before it was formally changed in the 1950s – it was once a busy coaching stop on the main route from London to Exeter. Today, the village is bypass-protected, which has helped it retain a quieter, more settled character around its core of thatched cottages and flint-walled houses. The River Piddle winds along the northern edge of the village, and the surrounding countryside is defined by the expansive Puddletown Forest, which offers miles of well-trodden tracks for walking and cycling. The village layout is practical, centred around a square with a local shop, a primary school, and a well-regarded GP surgery. Structurally, the standout feature is St Mary’s Church, which has remained largely untouched by Victorian restorers and still houses a complete set of 17th-century box pews and a rare cuckoo-style organ gallery. While Thomas Hardy famously reimagined the village as 'Weatherbury' in his novels, the modern reality is more focused on its role as a functional hub for the surrounding hamlets. It’s a place that feels connected to the wider county, but it remains firmly rooted in the valley, providing a straightforward, steady pace of life within easy reach of the county town.