Hello, and welcome.

I've been asked a few times now, "Betsy... what is this little corner of the internet actually all about?"

So I thought it was probably time I explained.

Betsy is my nom de plume — a name borrowed from both sides of my family tree. I've always kept diaries, always written things down, and I suppose I've always believed that ordinary days are worth remembering.

The idea for the letters came about quite by accident.

One day I asked my dad whether he'd read an email I'd sent him about our family history. His reply was, "I only check my emails once a month. It would be quicker to write to me."

So I did.

To my surprise, he loved receiving a letter. It felt different somehow. More thoughtful. More personal.

Not long afterwards, a neighbour who had recently lost her husband mentioned how lonely she sometimes felt, even though her daughter and grandchildren lived just six doors away. That conversation stayed with me.

I went home and wrote her a letter.

I sent it anonymously, simply hoping it might brighten her day. She’s never mentioned it either.

Then I found myself wondering... if one person might appreciate an unexpected letter, perhaps others would too.

So Betsy quietly found herself writing to two churches and two nursing homes in different parts of the country — all places with personal connections to me. Each received a little introduction explaining who Betsy was, followed by the first of what I hoped would become a monthly letter from cottage life.

None of the letters have ever been returned.

I like to think that means they're being read.

People also ask whether Railway View Cottage is a real place.

In a nutshell... yes.

Railway View Cottage was once the name of a cottage we called home. The cottage you see in my photographs isn't that one, but another beautiful cottage we were lucky enough to spend time in. Today we still live in a cottage somewhere in England.

Everything I write is rooted in real life.

The little moments I share on Instagram are simply snippets from my day. The monthly letters are an honest reflection of the month that's just passed — gardening triumphs and disasters, weather, wildlife, cups of tea, walks, thoughts and all the wonderfully ordinary things that make up a life.

The water colour illustrations begin as real photographs before being transformed with a little help from AI. They give Betsy a gentle layer of privacy while still allowing me to share the places and moments that inspire the letters. If we happened to pass one another in the street, you might even recognise a little of Betsy in me.

The subscription side of Railway View Cottage Letters grew from those five letters I still write every month.

For every new subscriber who joins, I'll add another complimentary letter to someone, in their area, who may appreciate a little unexpected post through their letterbox.

Because sometimes the smallest kindness can make the biggest difference.

And that's really all Betsy is.

A fictional friend.

A real cottage.

A real life.

One letter at a time………. So Welcome to Betsy’s corner of the Internet xx