The Valley (novel)

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The Valley is the debut novel by Barry Pilton, published in 2005 by Bloomsbury. Set in a fictional mid-Wales valley in the 1980s, it is a humorous look at how outsiders disturb a tight-knit rural community and was being developed for television. The Nant Valley residents believe they are safe from outside changes, but newcomers move in to enjoy the countryside.

Dafydd, the village postman, wonders if the place is ready for strangers. Stefan, a mysterious buyer, purchases a derelict manor and tries to become a squire, but his money earns little respect and he can’t even get a drink at the pub because the landlord, Gwillim, hates customers. Jane and Rob, urban artists dreaming of The Good Life, pursue a carefree lifestyle whose nudist ambitions cause trouble for local farms. As outsiders and locals clash, the fabric of rural life begins to unravel with dramatic consequences.

The Valley runs to 288 pages in its first edition. Two sequels continue the story of the characters introduced in the novel.