THIS month is the last chance for 2023 to visit the Dorset house of legendary soldier TE Lawrence – better known as Lawrence of Arabia.

Clouds Hill, near Bovington, was home to the famous fighter from 1923, and is one of the smallest houses owned by the National Trust.

Each year, at the end of October, Clouds Hill gets ‘put to bed’ for the winter season by the National Trust team.

All of the original TE Lawrence collection pieces are carefully dusted, cleaned, covered, and wrapped to keep them safe, and the house is slowly and carefully deep cleaned.

“This means that now is your last chance to visit this remarkable house before the special conservation cleaning begins,” a spokesperson said.

“2023 is also a special year to visit due to it being the 100-year anniversary of TE Lawrence finding and moving into Clouds Hill.”

Clouds Hill is near the Tank Museum at Bovington, home to a “superb” collection of original TE Lawrence items including books and pictures, they added.

“Clouds Hill was originally built as a forester’s cottage in the early 19th-century,” the spokesperson said.

Dilapidated and uncomfortable, TE Lawrence began renting Clouds Hill in 1923, when he was stationed nearby at Bovington Camp with the Tanks Corps.

Elizabeth Flight, partnership and programming officer, said: “Now is the perfect opportunity to pay a visit to Clouds Hill.

The book room at Clouds Hill. Picture: National Trust Images/James Dobson

“This is such an atmospheric house and although small you get a true sense of who TE Lawrence really was. The tours which are delivered outside the house paint a wonderful picture of this incredible man.”

Open Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday throughout October, people can visit between 10am and 3pm. Booking is highly recommended and can be done by calling 0344 249 1895, or by searching for Clouds Hill on the National Trust website. National Trust members can visit for free.

After October, the house will re-open in Easter 2024.

For more information and to book your visit, log on to www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/dorset/clouds-hill.