He grew up on a diet of Gypsy history, handed down from his great grandmother, but his own experience of life on the road was limited to Ford Transit journeys from West Sussex to Hampshire to sell flowers. In his remarkable debut The Stopping Places, he set out to discover the old encampment sites known only to Travellers – and through them, an understanding of the history of the Romany in Britain, as well as the rhythms of their life today.

 

In conversation with Louise Doughty, author of Apple Tree Yard and Black Water