Through vivid characterizations of people and place, Joyce West’s storytelling—evocative of L. M. Montgomery’s in her Anne of Green Gable series—draws her reader into the richly-textured, rural setting of New Zealand in the mid-20th century. In this first book, young Gabrielle Allan (called Gay) is living contentedly on Drovers Road, her Uncle Dunsany’s sheep station in the hill country a hundred miles from Gisborne. Besides her young, bachelor uncle there are her three orphaned cousins—Eve, Hugh and Merry—and their Great-Aunt Belle. Taken in by Dunsany years before, after her parents’ divorce, Gay now scarcely remembers any other life. There are lessons at the local school, taught by pretty, sensible Susan Leigh, regular chores, plenty of riding and jumping, pranks with Merry, unlikely pets—and abundant potential for unexpected adventures. Then, everything starts to change. With boarding school suddenly looming on the horizon, Gay and Merry—besides hating the idea—also begin to realize the expense they are to their uncle. Are they the burden standing in the way of Uncle Dunsany’s marriage? Additional unsettling possibilities are added when Gay learns that her father is returning to New Zealand after an absence of many years. Will this mean leaving Drovers Road forever? In a story filled with unforgettable characters (human and otherwise), horse shows and hunts, careless actions and scary consequences, happy (and not-so-happy) romances, young Gabrielle learns something about love and trust through the shared ups and downs of a very human, but also very caring family and extended community. Original Book: 186 pages This is the first book in the Drovers Road Collection. The second book in the series is Cape Lost. The third book in the series is The Golden Country.

Gay Allan tells the story of her life on an outback sheep station beyond Gisborne, where she lives with her unmarried Uncle Dunsany, her Aunt Belle and her three orphaned cousins.

One of the great classics of Scottish history, The Drove Roads of Scotland interweaves folklore, social comment and economic history in a fascinating account of Scotland's droving trade and the routes by which cattle and sheep were brought from every corner of the land to markets in central Scotland. In pastoral Scotland, the breeding and movement of livestock were fundamental to the lives of the people. The story of the drove roads takesthe reader on an engrossing tour of Scottish history, from the lawless cattle driving by reivers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to the legitimate movement of stock which developed after the Union of the Crowns, by which time the large-scale movement of stock to established markets had become an important part of Scotland's economy, and a vital aspect of commercial life in the Empire.

Droving has been hugely important in shaping farming practice across Northumberland for 1,000 years or more. The necessity of transporting sheep and cattle has changed the landscape, developed the roads and buildings, and at one time, animals would be herded from as far a field as Scotland and Ireland. Today the scene is very different but the legacy of the drovers can still be seen and enjoyed all over the region. Local archaeologists Ian Roberts, Alan Rushworth, and Richard Calrton have been determined to preserve this history on behalf of the Northumberland National Park Authority. Following the development of droving in Northumberland from prehistoric times, through Middle Ages, the eighteenth century and right up to date, they offer the definitive history of this significant activity.