My neighbours Nick and Caroline live in the house at the top of the field and between their home and mine, curved lines of earthworks follow the contours of a hill down to the river and reveal the remains of an iron age refuge.

In Nick’s kitchen a topographical study made in the early nineteenth century depicts house boats beside a creek. The curved bender roofs of the two hulls reminded me instantly of my own situation here in Exbury. Living beside water has long had many attractions.