A Christmas Gift

Travel Guide

Middledip and Bettsborough

A typical English village but one which is sadly fictional! However, it’s very real and cosy in Sue Moorcroft’s books.

Middledip Cambridgeshire Fens

This the village where many of Sue’s novels are set. It’s not real sadly but is based on a number of villages in and around the Cambridgeshire Fens. Wisbech is known as the capital of the Fens and so this is firmly on the map.

Middledip village sounds idyllic – any village might be encountered at the nearby shop or at the pub. The Gatehouse dwarfs little number 7 where Lix now lives. Someone wants it to adjoin the gatehouse however…so there’s not too much community spirit this side of the village!

Wisbech – Wisbech Museum

The capital of the Fens known for its elegant Georgian architecture, a legacy from an era when the town was a booming trade centre. Peckover House and Gardens on North Brink, was once the home of the Peckovers, a Quaker banking family. Could this be a kind of Gatehouse? Further east, the real network of canals and marshes begins – this is where the small church is on the map above.

Acting Instrumental

is the nicely named place where Georgine works.

They put together a Christmas show and the behind the scenes look at a  Christmas show are very interesting. The next time you go to see any kind of show, you’ll realise the hard work that goes into them!

Interestingly, the themes in the show seem to be mirrored in the story itself. Life imitating art. This is set in the run up to Christmas and gives a view of how a village comes together to prepare. It also shows the pressures behind such a time. Sometimes Christmas is not the cosy and friendly, peaceful time of year.