Sunrise at Thorncombe Woods Picture: Ian Metcalfe Did you know that a ghostly centurion is supposed to haunt a picturesque wood near Dorchester? A Roman road runs through Thorncombe Wood at Higher Bockhampton with legends of a ghostly centurion who roams upon it! Thorncombe Wood has been a wonderful feature of the Dorset countryside as far back as the time of famous novelist Thomas Hardy in the 1800s. His cottage on the edge of the wood looked out on a dense natural world which has become much more managed in modern times with walkways, benches, picnic areas, information points and guides.