The Blandford Bastards, a peek in The Gugg and night walking

• Dorset Archives Trust has begun fundraising to enable it to unlock the internationally significant, UNESCO-listed archive of author Thomas Hardy. At present the collection consists of more than 150 boxes of material including diaries, photographs, letters, books, architectural plans and poetry, and is only available to those searching the archive in person, and they hope to digitise the complete collection. Roger Guttridge examines Hardy's relationship with the north of the county,  looking at a moderately unknown – but vastly interesting – rough-and-ready sketch-map of ‘Tess’s Country’ that Hardy drew as he was preparing to write Tess of the d’Urbervilles.

• A recent clean of William Bastard’s portrait in Blandford's Corn Exchange revealed an intriguing detail, says Rupert Hardy, chairman of North Dorset CPRE

• John Stanley and Deanne Tremlett give Edwina Baines a tour of the enormous range of creative options available for the whole community at The Gugg in Stalbridge

• As the summer crops hang on a little longer and the autumn season begins, October is the best month for foraging, says expert Carl Mintern 

• PODCAST EXCLUSIVE - Autumn is the time to delay your daily walk until the light begins to fade, suggests wildlife writer Jane Adams. Podcast listeners can hear her interview with Jenny as she talks about the enrishment of a night walk.