My father comes from a farming family in the Forest of Dean, Glos, near the Welsh border. After his retirement, he and my mother went to live in an old tithe barn on the family land, which they had converted into a house. They also converted a second barn, Rookery Barn, as a holiday let. Here are two versions of the poem (one rhyming, one not) I wrote for them and some of the family history.

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By the Gate

Stretch your gaze across the countryside
from the farm gate to the edge of vision
where the green of fields greets the sky’s blue hide.

Horses and tractors trace their path deep
into centuries and acres of livestock and land
still grazed now by cattle and sheep.

Hold out a finger to the far-off slopes
of this living photo and place your print
in the impression left by ancient farmers’ hopes

or, if your luck holds good,
touch a precious patch of green
where no one has ever stood.

The History and Surroundings

The barn and the land it is built on have been in the James’ family for three generations, though the barn itself is believed to be seventeenth century in origin. The land was bought by John Henry James in the 1930s when he paid a couple of thousand pounds for around 110 acres. This was later passed on to his son Albert John James, who gave it to his son John Thomas James in the late 1980s. Work on converting the barn started in 2003 and was finished early in 2006.

The name Rookery Barn comes from the name of the country road it is situated on: Rookery Lane. It is believed that years ago there was once a natural rookery in the trees at this spot, though nothing remains of it today.

The barn is situated in the heart of the countryside and is in the Wye Valley area of outstanding natural beauty. Its views across the surrounding countryside include the Black Mountains and the Buckstone near Staunton. Many species of wildlife can also be enjoyed from the spot, including deer, hares, pheasants, skylarks, curlews, lapwings, wagtails and barn owls.