During this time his father, who was a former Royal Air Force pay clerk, developed multiple sclerosis and had to retire on medical grounds from a civil service career.
Davies joined the sixth form at Carlisle Grammar School and was awarded a place at University College, Durham to read for an honours degree in History, but after his first year he switched to a general arts course.
[3] After he left university, Davies worked as a journalist, and in 1965 he wrote the novel Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush, which was made into a film of the same name in 1967.
He raised the idea of a biography of the Beatles with Paul McCartney when he met him to discuss the possibility of providing the theme song for the film.
McCartney liked the idea of the book because inaccurate information had been published about the group but he advised him to obtain the approval of Brian Epstein.
Davies also wrote a column for Punch about his daily life, called "Father's Day", presenting himself as a harried paterfamilias.
[5] Davies has also written a biography of the fell walker Alfred Wainwright, and many works about the topography and history of the Lake District.
[9] Davies was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to literature.