This last week, my husband and myself have been enjoying the rolling rural landscape of Gloucestershire

We walked in the Slad Valley,

enjoying scenes of outstanding beauty and never seeing anyone. No wonder such scenes inspired the writer of ‘Cider with Rosie’ Slad author, Laurie Lee. We were even able to glimpse the cottage where he lived in the valley which is currently in private ownership.

Rolling countryside with deep valleys but not as dramatic as the mountains of the Remutaka Pass which Alister and Eliza, Robert and Mary cross with their respective families from Wellington to the Wairarapa.

Once there, Alister buys some land and eventually builds his two storey barn and house, much to Eliza’s relief.

“At last we are moved into the new place, which we have called, along with our land, Waireka (Maori for ‘sweet waters’), as a tributary from the Waihaha River flows through our land making it rich and sweet for our cows. (pg 165)

These two images are of more modern but similar properties. But built in wood because New Zealand is in an earthquake zone, they are rather different from our more familiar British farm buildings.