Max Gate
4.5
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
347 reviews
Excellent
205
Very good
120
Average
20
Poor
2
Terrible
0
NicRoseP
Egham, UK175 contributions
May 2023 • Solo
You have to book in advance online but staff onsite are very accommodating if you’re early and there’s space on an earlier tour. The staff are very knowledgeable and friendly. The house is very interesting.
I was lucky enough to get a parking space outside the house but parking is limited.
I was lucky enough to get a parking space outside the house but parking is limited.
Written May 25, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Vivaldi44
Poole, UK82 contributions
Sep 2022
This is one of my favourite National Trust gems. Located near Dorchester, the house seems somewhat incongruous as the area surrounding it has been considerably built up since Hardy's time. Like Hardy's Birthplace, this location has to be booked as it is timed tour only. There is no car park or refreshments facility but there are toilets and parking is easy enough in the surrounding roads. The house serves as a wonderful time capsule, and is in the middle of a beautiful garden of an acre and a half or so surrounded by a brick wall. Our guide was fantastic and really knowledgeable about all aspects of the house and grounds, and not just related to Thomas Hardy. For example I had no idea that it is literally in the middle of an important and ancient archeological site and there are still a couple of Sarsen Stones from the original stone circle that stood there a few thousand years ago. The tour of the house is extremely interesting with vivid explanations given for the rooms in which we were taken. The house also contains many original Thomas Hardy artefacts. For me it was an added and unexpected bonus that upon completion of the tour visitors are permitted to explore the house at will and also go into rooms that were not part of the official tour. All staff encountered were very personable and extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of Thomas Hardy and Max Gate, including how the house got its name. I highly recommend adding Max Gate to any itinerary when visiting Dorset.
Written October 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
1949etwall
Ashbourne, UK1,628 contributions
Sep 2022 • Couples
We loved the location, the garden with helpful informative volunteers, our welcome on arrival and the general setting- all this despite the guide.
There was confusion as the web site says booking needed- but apparently from todays experience you can turn up- two did! This made the group large.
The guide (September 22nd 11 AM) was a problem:
1 The talk was a ramble- not highlighting the key points of interest, hence repetitive. All this not helped by:
2 distracting and unnecessary personal observations about cats, and family dementia.
3 In 2022 there is no need to make a joke about the sexuality of JM Barrie - which is itself a disputed matter.
There was confusion as the web site says booking needed- but apparently from todays experience you can turn up- two did! This made the group large.
The guide (September 22nd 11 AM) was a problem:
1 The talk was a ramble- not highlighting the key points of interest, hence repetitive. All this not helped by:
2 distracting and unnecessary personal observations about cats, and family dementia.
3 In 2022 there is no need to make a joke about the sexuality of JM Barrie - which is itself a disputed matter.
Written September 21, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
acjennings2016
Chepstow, UK23 contributions
Aug 2022 • Family
This was an unexpected gem. The guides we're knowledgeable and welcoming and the house was a beautiful sanctuary. Also went to Thomas Hardy's birthplace on the same day (also national trust) to make a lovely day out
Written August 23, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
redtiger18
York, UK62 contributions
Jul 2022 • Couples
This was an excellent tour made all the more pleasurable by the tour guide Julie. As previously noted our knowledge was also woeful but we came away with not only an increase in our knowledge but wanting to go home and start reading Mr Hardy!
The National Trust have done an excellent job in recreating pieces of the time without being too precious about it.
The National Trust have done an excellent job in recreating pieces of the time without being too precious about it.
Written July 22, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RICHARD STILLMAN
1 contribution
Jul 2022
I found this, as a Hardy fan, a very moving place to visit. The guide was wonderful: not given to speculation, keeping to the facts but a fund of knowledge and anecdotes.
Written July 14, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alistair M
Northampton, UK207 contributions
Jun 2022
Our Hardy knowledge was embarrassingly sketchy before our tour, not so afterwards. Many of our NT visits with guides are peppered with names and dates so plentiful that you start to lose track. Where a property has a single subject there are less names and the dates tend to be more easily processed, and this was very much the case here.
We also visited Hardy's cottage, and it was suggested we should have done that first but in the end it didn't matter too much.
Like other visitors we arrived well before our scheduled slot, but you can relax in the waiting time in the garden.
We also visited Hardy's cottage, and it was suggested we should have done that first but in the end it didn't matter too much.
Like other visitors we arrived well before our scheduled slot, but you can relax in the waiting time in the garden.
Written June 19, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Patric D
Sandbach, UK792 contributions
May 2022
If you want to understand more about who Thomas hardy was, this is the place to go. Although much of the furniture within the house is not original (only the house and garden were given to the National Trust, not the contents), you still get a very clear impression of how he lived his life and how the house must have been in his day.
He was very provate, so make sure you see the full length shutters he bhad fitted to the downstairs windows to stop the curious peering through his windows. There is also some sadness around his two unhappy marriages, highlighted by the choice that his seciond wife made to go and live in the attic. He was clearly not an easy man.
He was very provate, so make sure you see the full length shutters he bhad fitted to the downstairs windows to stop the curious peering through his windows. There is also some sadness around his two unhappy marriages, highlighted by the choice that his seciond wife made to go and live in the attic. He was clearly not an easy man.
Written June 13, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michael L
St. Albans, UK28 contributions
Jun 2022 • Couples
We'd already visited Thomas Hardy's Cottage that morning and so this filled in his later years.
Although the house isn't large, there's enough to make a visit worthwhile. There was an introductory talk in the grounds, given by a young man who was clearly enthusiastic about the subject, and then we moved into the house itself.
The house had been added to and changed as Hardy became more successful and the very helpful guides explained its history and Hardy's relationship with it.
Although the house isn't large, there's enough to make a visit worthwhile. There was an introductory talk in the grounds, given by a young man who was clearly enthusiastic about the subject, and then we moved into the house itself.
The house had been added to and changed as Hardy became more successful and the very helpful guides explained its history and Hardy's relationship with it.
Written June 11, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MrsWYN-R
North Yorkshire, UK2,923 contributions
Jun 2022
Pre-booked our visit online using the National Trust website. Previously in the day we had visited Hardy's Cottage only a short drive away - worth completing the two together. Parking is at a premium here as there is not parking at Max Gate so you need to park in the road outside the grounds.
It was excellent having a tour guide telling us about the area and the history of the house. Geoff is highly knowledgeable and passionate about his subject. Interesting to learn about which books were written in the various rooms upstairs including the various house extensions. The house is well maintained and has a great atmosphere inside, plaques on the walls tell you additional information. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and highly recommend.
It was excellent having a tour guide telling us about the area and the history of the house. Geoff is highly knowledgeable and passionate about his subject. Interesting to learn about which books were written in the various rooms upstairs including the various house extensions. The house is well maintained and has a great atmosphere inside, plaques on the walls tell you additional information. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and highly recommend.
Written June 6, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Is there anywhere on the site we could have a picnic?
MrsWYN-R
North Yorkshire, UK2,923 contributions
The property has a side garden with a decent sized lawn which would be a nice spot on a sunny day.
Polly O
Arundel, UK
Is Max House dog friendly? I can pop my small dog in his buggy...
Darren G
United Kingdom213 contributions
Hi. Yes it is definitely dog friendly, but they will have to stay in the gardens. Our two rescues, Nelson & Emma, had a lovely time there. My wife and I viewed the house separately while the other looked after the pooches. Plenty of water bowls out in the heat too. Darren
Max Gate (Dorchester) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go
Frequently Asked Questions about Max Gate
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