Finding Home in Hartfell with Suzanne Snow

Submitted: 12th February 2025

Finding Home in Hartfell, Yorkshire

Yorkshire – a place for gentle walks, looking at stunning scenery and making new animal friends. A lovely wander with Suzanne Snow today….

Bookmap of locations in the novel

I write uplifting fiction inspired by landscape, romance and rural life. Finding Home in Hartfell is set in a small fictional village in the glorious surroundings of the Yorkshire Dales. It’s a place I know well and have written about before, setting a previous series of books there. The setting always comes first for me and is almost a character in itself.

The Dales are a wonderful place to escape to, either through the pages of a book or in real life. I want to bring that to life for readers so they can imagine the village and how it looks to my characters. Farms, ancient barns and cottages surrounded by narrow lanes bordered by wildflowers, hay meadows and moorland fells are all sights my characters are familiar with. Each season offers a different view of the landscape, and whenever I visit, I try to picture the scenes in my books throughout the year, so I can write about them later.

Bookmap of locations in the novel

Settle

Settle is a beautiful market town between the Forest of Bowland on the west and the Yorkshire Dales to the east. I spent a day with a local veterinary practice there, researching the Hartfell series. It was a brilliant experience, and spending a day in the life of a Yorkshire vet helped so much. I was fortunate to visit farms on call with a vet, tour the practice and ask questions. I also got to spend an afternoon observing consultations with clients and their pets. It was invaluable, and I was so thrilled to have the opportunity.

Finding Home in Hartfell with Suzanne Snow

Bookmap of locations in the novel

Animals have always been part of my life. Growing up with horses, I was familiar with rural veterinary practices. Pippa’s story is one of discovering a place she’s never visited and yet to which she has strong family connections. She’s a single mum to a teenager, a devoted daughter and someone who puts other people’s needs above her own. She doesn’t want to be in Hartfell on business for her dad. Soon after that, she has to deal with a grumpy daughter, an irascible vet and more animals than she knows what to do with.

Settle has some lovely independent shops, a great bookshop, and the Settle to Carlisle Railway. The Folly Museum is well worth a visit and has a great coffee shop with delicious cakes!

Bookmap of locations in the novel

The Village of Dent

Dent is a beautiful village with white-painted cottages clustered along narrow cobbled lanes, and its landscape inspired much of my village of Hartfell. I write about community and there is much to be found in the village, from the coffee shop and bistro to the weekly community corner at the church, the small primary school and two pubs. Walking in Dentdale offers stunning views, especially the climb up to the station. I stayed in the village whilst writing the second book in the series, picturing my characters and following in their footsteps.

The church goes back to the twelfth century. It was to this one that I imagined my characters following a torchlight procession for carols and readings at Christmas. There is also a village heritage centre and museum in Dent. It really is a wonderful window onto the history of the community and its people.

Dent is only a few miles from Sedbergh, England’s official Book Town, and there are plenty of bookshops to explore there, including the local bus stop! Dent Station to Sedbergh is a ten-mile walk. The effort is well worth the reward of those views.

Bookmap of locations in the novel

Country Shows

A long-standing village show plays a part in Finding Home in Hartfell. Pippa soon discovers the show’s importance to the village and local community when she tries to have it relocated. I find lots of interest at these shows and have visited many; one of the most recent being the Hodder Show, set on the banks of the River Hodder in the Forest of Bowland.

From local businesses and craftspeople to animals both farm and domestic, young farmers’ groups, baking, excellent food and local interest, there is always something inspiring to discover I can incorporate into my writing. There are lots of shows to visit during spring and summer, and I hope to discover more on my travels.

Bookmap of locations in the novel

The Coach and Horses

Hartfell’s village pub is called the Pilkington Arms, and it isn’t long before Pippa learns that the name has a connection to the tenant occupying the house she has come to sort out. The Coach and Horses, in the beautiful village of Bolton-by-Bowland, fitted my inspiration perfectly.

My pub has recently been renovated by a couple new to the village, and the atmosphere, style and size of the Coach and Horses was perfect. The pub offers a fabulous menu with seasonal food, beautiful rooms and excellent walking on the doorstep, and is perfect for cosying up beside the fire afterwards. My village pub is creative with its ideas and events, and I’m looking forward to building on those as the series progresses.

Thank you Suzanne! Just time now to head into the Coach and Horses and have a pie after that hearty trail in Yorkshire!