A quaint and quirky refuge

From mobile shepherding sentry point to romantic glamping getaway, the humble shepherd's hut has undergone something of a revival - and Neil and Serena Cross are fully on board

- Neil and Serena Cross

WHAT DO Lord Cameron and Gabriel Oak have in common? The answer is that they both seek refuge from the madding crowd in their traditional shepherd's huts. All right, so Oak might be a fictional character and Cameron probably doesn't revive many orphan lambs in his hut but the point is that these rustic, wheeled contraptions have captured the public imagination for generations and that goes some way to explaining their enormous popularity in the post-pandemic world of home offices and man caves.

The earliest recorded mention of mobile shepherding accommodation dates back to 1596 when Leonard Mascal, sometime chief farrier to King James VI, wrote his record of rural life, charmingly entitled