THE widow of the late Poet Laureate Ted Hughes is to write her memoirs reflecting on their married life in North Tawton.

Carol Hughes married the poet in 1970, and they lived together in North Tawton for 28 years until his death from cancer in 1998.

Born in Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire, Hughes moved to Court Green in North Tawton in 1961 with his first wife and fellow poet Sylvia Plath, and their daughter Frieda.

Their son Nicholas was born the following year.

To some, Hughes remains a controversial figure following the suicides of Plath and the woman he left her for, Assia Wevill.

Speaking to the Times in 2011 about Hughes' affection for North Tawton, Carol Hughes said: 'He sometimes used to call it his bolthole.

'I think although a lot of his life took him out of Devon he always felt he could retreat back to Devon because he loved the countryside, he loved the rivers of Devon.

'He felt a privacy in North Tawton and people were very respectful of that.

'There was very little local intrusion into his life at all. That was important to Ted.'