Read around the Rainbow: my dream writing space

I guess anyone who writes, or dreams of writing, has their dream writing space too. Partly, I blame movies and TV dramas for that. All those glossy shots of writers sitting at old-fashioned typewriters, in exquisite summerhouses, surrounded by beautiful gardens, with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine to hand… It’s enough to make any writer fantasise!

And I have my own dream, too. In my case my fantasy writing space would be a shepherd’s hut. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, they’re small, wheeled contraptions that could be towed around a farmer’s fields, allowing a shepherd to live amongst his flock in relative comfort. In hilly areas, or very large estates, it was a cheaper solution than building permanent structures. And the wooden huts (see picture above) are very beautiful.

These days there are lots of joinery businesses making shepherd’s huts. They don’t come cheap – a fully fitted one cost around £15,000 last time I checked – but you can have the interior fitted out however you like. In my case that would include a decent, comfortable yet supportive chair and a desk, preferably looking out of the window at a lovely view.

There’s no space in our compact-and-bijou back garden to put a shepherd’s hut, and it would probably be too noisy and distracting anyway. My dream location would be in a field, near some woods, next to a rushing stream. However, I’m a practical northern lass at heart, and I already know the fantasy wouldn’t translate well to real life. Shepherd’s huts don’t come with running water, mains sewerage or electricity, so there’d be nowhere to boil a kettle, plug in the laptop or go to the loo. Not ideal for a day’s writing – I’d have to travel to the nearest village for every cup of tea!

So until someone comes up with a writing retreat in the middle of nowhere that still has all mod cons the dream will have to stay a dream. But it’s a lovely dream to have!

Pic credit: redskyshepherdshuts.co.uk

Want to see what other writers have as their dream writing space? Then why not check out some of these:

A L Lester :: Nell Iris :: Ofelia Grand :: Lillian Francis :: Amy Spector :: Ellie Thomas :: Addison Albright