UPPER FARM — ELEPHANTS, ECCENTRICS & EXTRAORDINARY TALES

What's a product There was a time when the most extraordinary thing you might encounter wandering through the sleepy Northamptonshire village of Tiffield wasn't a horse, a farm cart or even a wandering drunk making his way home after a few too many.

Perhaps it was a circus performer, a flamboyant showman, a lion tamer heading for a pint at The George, or some wonderfully eccentric character who looked as though they'd wandered straight out of another world.

But imagine turning a corner and coming face to face with an elephant.

Not a statue. Not a fanciful village legend. An enormous, living, breathing elephant, casually strolling through the narrow lanes of Tiffield, on its way to the stream for a drink.

And the most extraordinary part? This wasn't some travelling spectacle passing through the village.

It was simply one of Upper Farm's eccentric residents — and a glimpse into the extraordinary life that unfolded behind its gates.

And that, rather wonderfully, is only the beginning.