TCT Country

In many ways the books that make up the trilogy are the hardest to illustrate as nearly everything happens either at The Keep or else in Hampshire or London. True characters visit interesting places in the south west but these tend to be covered on the country pages of other books: Miles and Fliss live in Dartmouth (see Hattie’s Mill and Summer on the River) and are at Shipley Bridge (see The Courtyard) when Miles suffers a stroke while there are various excursions up on to Dartmoor which is well covered in other books.

There is, however one small exception: Bigbury and Burgh Island. The children would come here now and then and  Theo and Fox would drive over to sit in the car park and enjoy the scenery after Fox retired and moved from the Lodge to the house proper.

Then there is one other specific view for you. This is the hill that Marcia had in her mind when writing about the children running around the copse.

After that all I can offer you is a series of pictures of the farmland in the South Hams of South Devon between Dartmoor to the north and the English Channel to the south. It is mainly pasture although, as we shall see, there is some arable. It is fairly well wooded and most field divisions are hedges rather than walls or fences and there is often a distant view of the moor in the background.

This,of course, means you will find plenty of stock such as these two cows (shortly to be mothers by the look of it) standing knee deep in grass – which is, of course, how many poets want them to be.

This solid looking fellow seems to be keeping a watchful eye over his wives and their offspring.

There is something very appealing about the young.

Not all the stock you find is quite as you would expect. Some few farmers are now looking at goats to meet the requirements of a very small (but growing) niche market for goat’s cheese.

I will admit to being surprised to come across this trio. Are they the remains of a flock (there was a time some years ago when ostrich meat was popular for a while) or just being kept as pets? I have no idea.

What most people notice as they drive around is that this part of the world is full of narrow lanes, of which this one is typical.

Some have been abandoned and are well worth exploring on foot.

All offer a profusion of wild flowers in season . . .

. . . and, of course, glimpses though gateways.

I mentioned that we have some arable here. As so often, there is Dartmoor in the distance.

There are many magnificent trees . . .

. . . and the occasional electricity pylon or mobile telephone aerial mast . . .

. . . as well as an increasing number of wind turbines.