Britain gallery: Laurie Lee cottage

This is not actually one of my favourite pictures - it's a bit too 'chocolate-box'-y for me, even

though I took it. But the book that this cottage inspired is a favourite. This is Mrs. Lee's

cottage, and this is where little Laurie grew up and subsequently - thankfully - gave us all 'Cider

with Rosie'. I would have taken the picture even without the cottage, as meadows like this

are so rare these days.

You can go and sit in Laurie Lee's pub, the Woolpack, in Slad, Gloucestershire, practically next

door, and you can visit his simple grave, almost opposite the cottage in the churchyard, and

you can walk any of the many country walks around these quiet hills and meadows. Or you

can write to Gloucestershire County Council and object to their crass plans to redevelop the

beautiful little valley that starts here in this quintessential corner of England.

It wouldn't be true to say that if the local ale, Uleys, was good enough for Laurie Lee then it's

good enough for me, as I don't think it can hold a candle to some ales in Suffolk, for instance,

or to London Pride or Sam Smiths. But it is still a pleasure to quaff one in the pub that one of

England's favourite writers knew so well, with its view down the valley and the road, out of

Slad, that he took in his next book, As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning.

This is not actually one of my favourite pictures - it's a bit too 'chocolate-box'-y for me, even

though I took it. But the book that this cottage inspired is a favourite. This is Mrs. Lee's cottage,

and this is where little Laurie grew up and subsequently - thankfully - gave us all 'Cider with Rosie'. I

would have taken the picture even without the cottage, as meadows like this are so rare these

days.

You can go and sit in Laurie Lee's pub, the Woolpack, in Slad, Gloucestershire, practically next door,

and you can visit his simple grave, almost opposite the cottage in the churchyard, and you can

walk any of the many country walks around these quiet hills and meadows. Or you can write to

Gloucestershire County Council and object to their crass plans to redevelop the beautiful little valley

that starts here in this quintessential corner of England.

It wouldn't be true to say that if the local ale, Uleys, was good enough for Laurie Lee then it's good

enough for me, as I don't think it can hold a candle to some ales in Suffolk, for instance, or to

London Pride or Sam Smiths. But it is still a pleasure to quaff one in the pub that one of England's

favourite writers knew so well, with its view down the valley and the road, out of Slad, that he took

in his next book, As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning.

Famous Slad cottage...