Raised by parents with a passion for amateur dramatics, Cheshire-‎born Christopher Holliday was enthralled by theatre from an early ‎age. His enjoyment in make-believe was furthered by a passion for ‎exotic gardens in adulthood. He first discovered the Lake District as ‎a place to live during a number of peculiar years in hotel management ‎where he felt somewhat out of place.‎
His life changed when he settled permanently in Grange-over-‎Sands, where he was inspired to create a Mediterranean garden. Re-‎training as a garden designer, he also became a freelance garden ‎writer. He once spent two days in the rain being filmed for five ‎minutes of airtime on BBC's Gardeners' World. His love of ‎borderline exotic plants was demonstrated in Sharp Gardening ‎‎(Garden Media Guild Practical book of the year, 2005), and his ‎enthusiasm for historic houses can be found in Houses of the Lake ‎District, both published by Frances Lincoln.‎
He has since lived in Grange-over-Sands, six miles from the ‎southern tip of Windermere, for most of his adult life, and shares ‎similar interests as his characters.‎