Stunning views in Laurie Lee's Slad Valley

In case you haven't heard of it, Cider with Rosie is a 1959 novel by Laurie Lee. It is the first book of a trilogy consisting of As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning and A Moment of War. Six million copies have been sold and the story has been adapted for the stage and twice for television.

The novel is the charming account of Lee's childhood in the village of Slad against the backdrop of the First World War. It depicts the innocence of Cotswolds life in this idyllic pastoral setting.

Lee continued to live in Slad until he died in 1997, and he is still fondly remembered in the village, not least in The Woolpack Inn where he spend much of his later life. His grave is in the churchyard opposite the pub. The central character Rosie, now in her 90's, lives nearby in Cheltenham.