Why a Booktrail?
1980s, 2000s: Five friends, one remote house, one very big and hidden secret.
The Shadow Year
What you need to know before your trail
Five friends decide to move out to a remote cottage and live as simply as they can by being self sufficient and not relying on the outside world in any way. They have all just finished university so this is an adventure to them, a challenge and they all want to recreate this idyll they have in their minds.
Travel Guide
The Cottage
The five friends are Mat who suggests the cottage in the first place, couple Ben and Carla, Simon who then takes charge and Kat who has a crush on Simon. Rather like the pace and tone of ‘The Beach by Alex Garland, things start off well and everything really is tranquil and calm. They live well, eat simple food from the land and go swimming in the nearby lake.
Everything we need is right here: shelter, fresh water, produce from the land, there are fish in the lake, pheasants in the woods and enough firewood to keep us warm for the rest of our days. We could resurrect the vegetable patch behind the cottage.
The Lake District, Glossop
The lake – oh the lake is the one that you will want to dip your toes in yourself. Find a lake amongst the hills of the Peak District and you would never want to leave –
“Kat’s plan is to skirt the lake and to investigate the woodland surrounding the water. Until now she’s been intent on staying in the vicinity of the cottage but the morning feels full of possibility.”
But then winter sets in and the story changes dramatically as does the tension and the difficulty of living in such a remote place. Winter is now in control – not Simon nor anyone else. Tension is the new houseguest.
“A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.”
If you want to see the Peak District revealed in all its glory – the remote landscape, the cold cruel winter contrasted with the brilliant and idyllic summer then spend a while with this book. This is a novel where the setting is the main character and everything that happens is a direct result of the surroundings and the impact of it on the people who live in it. Glossop is mentioned in the book as being a place close enough for supplies, so the cottage is at this side of the Peak District.
Where Next?
