Page 21 of Sunrise over Strawberry Hill Farm

Flora shook her head. ‘But it’s all useless. Unless you count one incredibly ridiculous idea given to me by my friend Katy. But it’ll never work.’

‘Why?’ he asked, stopping in front of her. ‘What was it?’

‘A campsite!’ she told him with a teary laugh. ‘Or, rather, a glamping site. You know, with trendy yurts and bunting.’

He looked confused. ‘Where would you situate it?’ he asked.

‘Exactly!’ she told him. ‘Put them on the floodplain and they’d be underwater within days!’

He looked around before turning back with a smile on his face. ‘Not if you situate it here.’

‘Here?’ She laughed. ‘This is a joke, right?’

He shook his head. ‘Actually, I’m not so sure.’

She stood up next to him. ‘It’s a crazy idea,’ she told him. ‘I mean, look at the slope. It’s not steep by any means, but nobody wants to camp on an incline, do they? It’s hardly glamorous to wake up outside of your tent because it’s slid down the hill whilst you were sleeping!’

But Nico was still looking down across the land. ‘Actually, it would be quite easy,’ he told her. ‘All you would need would be some kind of level platform for each tent. A couple of steps. It’s quite simple to erect.’

‘A platform?’ she asked.

He nodded. ‘Something like wooden decking that would keep the tent level and off the wet ground as well.’

‘Handy if it rains a lot, which it seems to do around here,’ joked Flora.

‘You’d need some proper posts too,’ he carried on. ‘Concrete to secure it, but I really think it would work.’

She turned to check his face to see if he was joking. But, to her surprise, he was entirely serious. ‘You’re not really suggesting that this is a good idea, are you?’ she asked, aghast.

‘Why not? These fields don’t flood, from what I’ve been told. The view is stupendous. The slope is only gentle and can be overcome to make it habitable.’ He turned to look at her. ‘Tell me why this can’t happen?’

‘First of all, I know nothing about running a campsite!’ she replied. ‘Let alone a glamping site. You know, with made-up tents, proper beds and all that added expense.’

‘Sounds great,’ he said. ‘Don’t you want to make a profit?’ he asked.

‘Of course I do,’ Flora told him. ‘But we don’t have any funds to purchase any of the equipment and make the renovations required to get it up and running in the first place.’

‘What about the stable block?’ Nico asked.

Flora was nonplussed at the change of subject. ‘What about it?’

‘Your friend Ryan was telling me how much money they’re getting from renting out the old railway carriages. Perhaps it would work with the stables as well.’

Flora made a face. ‘I’m not sure anybody would want to stay in there.’

‘They might do with a bit of work put into it. Let’s go see.’

She shook her head. ‘What’s the point?’ she asked. ‘We haven’t got any savings to make it habitable.’

‘Andiamo. Let’s just go take a look,’ he said, turning away and beginning to walk down the hill.

Flora rolled her eyes at his back. ‘This is crazy,’ she told him, as she walked quickly to keep up with him.

‘Sometimes a little crazy is what’s needed,’ he replied, over his shoulder.

They walked down the hill in silence until they reached the stable block at the bottom.

Looking at it with fresh eyes, she could see why Nico had had the idea for it to be turned into accommodation. It was large, with a high roof and, thankfully, four walls.