We’ve just returned from our first holiday in two years and, even though it rained every single day, it was still pretty special because it was Hattie’s very first holiday. So we took her to a favourite place of ours – the Devon/Dorset border near Lyme Regis.

We walked through ancient woods filled with prehistoric ferns, sat on isolated beaches and gazed out to sea, and caught up with good friends. The lovely Ruth Saberton joined us for a couple of days and we posed in our purple wellies whilst talking about our two new series ‘The Book Lovers‘ and ‘Polwenna Bay‘.

There was also some exploring to do. I’ve recently read Robert Macfarlane’s Holloway and wanted to find one of Dorset’s secret sunken paths. The one we chose was called Hell Lane – an apt description for the copious mud there. Hattie revelled in it, of course, becoming the dirtiest dog in Dorset in record time! But what a magical place it was with its banks of wild garlic scenting the air and its trees curving across the path.

We also revisited a favourite place of mine: River Cottage! This is the original cottage from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s TV series – a programme that kept me dreaming about my own escape to the country when I was living in the London suburbs.

Now it’s back to the desk and the big print out of Love in an English Garden. I can’t wait to dive back into this story before sending it to my publisher later this month.