The Wakely family, who feature in the early chapters of Barefoot on the Cobbles, live in Northway, at the top of the beautiful Peppercombe Valley. The small hamlet of Peppercombe nestles on the north Devon coast, between Bideford and Clovelly. At the time of the novel, fishermen put out from the rocky beach, In the lee of the looming red cliffs. Further up the wooded valley, straggled a handful of small cob cottages, inhabited by fishermen and labourers. As the track nears the main road, a mile from the shore, the landscape opens into farm land. Peppercombe has been inhabited for centuries, as is evidenced by the remains of an iron age fort, now named Peppercombe Castle. There was a large house of the same name in the village but this no longer survives. Little remains of the limekiln that would have been working in the valley when the Wakelys first lived there.

The valley now belongs to the National Trust and some of the cottages are available as holiday lets. There is a short history of Peppercombe, together with some photographs, on the Devon Perspectives website.

‘The lane was edged with pungent cow parsley; red campion and rose-bay willowherb set the hedgerows aflame. The cloudless sky had a shimmering intensity that comes only when a hot day tips inexorably into eveningtide. The gentle insect hum, the birdsong and the surrounding beauty, raised her spirits and gave renewed purpose to her stride as she struggled to catch up with her father.’

Barefoot on the Cobbles will be published on 17 November 2018. More information about the novel can be found here. Copies will be available at various events in the weeks following the launch or can be pre-ordered from Blue Poppy Publishing or the author.