Pemberley

One of our favorite days in England was touring Chatsworth.  It is the beautiful stately home of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy - only he calls it Pemberley.  Errr -well actually it currently is lived in by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire but it was used as the Pemberley in the film for the 2005 Kiera Knightley/Matthew MacFayden verson of Pride and Prejudice.

 This is the clothing the Duke and his family wore to the corrination ceremony for the Queen 60 years ago.  They had the invitation to the ceremony from the queen on display too.  It was kind of neat to see such tangible history.

 There is my handsome Andy.  Isn't he just so dreamy?

 This is a miniature replica of the whole building.

 One of many bedrooms we got to see.

 My favorite part of the house was viewing the library.  The smell of the old leather books, the secrets and history they hold - it was spellbinding.  I wondered who purchased them and who read them and what they contained.  Thousands of books, many hundreds of years old - some close to 1000.  Beautifully preserved and just amazing.  It was particularly fun to imagine this room knowing it would have been a man like Mr. Darcy's favorite place in the house.

 A close up of one of the shelves.

 This is the statue Andy really wanted to see.  He loves how it looks and seriously considered purchasing a miniature replica in the gift shop but it was going to be close to $200.  It is called The Veiled Vested Virgin by Raffaelle Monti (1818-81).

 The dining hall.

 Her Majesty the Queen's place service.  If you look closely, the card says that.

 The statue gallery was really neat too.  There were pieces that were very old.

 This one is of Alexander the Great - I cant remember quite right but it dates back to before Christ.

 I pretended this one was of Elizabeth Darcy ne Bennet.

 And of course, I loved seeing the "Mr. Darcy" sculpture in their gift shop.

 The gardens were so massive and I took almost 200 pictures that I couldnt possibly show them all here.  But I have chosen a few for you to enjoy.

 The maze was super fun.  We thought, this will be easy.  Then we started it and we kept getting stuck and then we kept thinking we were almost there and then we kept getting lost.  It took us about 30 minutes to get to the center in the end.

 Andy starting the maze.

 This is us at the center when we finally found the center.

It took us almost 3 hours just to see the inside of the house and another 3-4 to tour around the many many beautiful gardens.  It was such a dream of a home and although I dont think Id like to live in such a grand home, the gardens were spectacular and Id love to have access to those whenever I wanted.

Shameless Advertising

 While in England I placed bookmarks and adverts for my book wherever I could.  I shamelessly put them particularly in the pamphlet walls of both Pemberleys (Chatsworth and Lyme Park).  I also placed them at the various ones at the B&Bs we stayed at.  I think it worked because only a few days into July my book sales in England had at least matched those of June.

Oh and the Jane Austen Centre in Bath.  :)  I think she would approve.

Castles and handsome Princes

You'd think I was done posting about England but then you'd be wrong.  Ive just been so darn lazy.  Actually Ive just been so darn tired lately.  But nevertheless, here are some more!

So prepare yourself for Castles, handsome gentlemen and Pemberley 1.

First, Skipton Castle.  This was the castle we chose to tour while in England.  Part of it was built around the year1100 while the rest dates back to about 1300.  It was fun to tour and see dungeons, banquet rooms, draw bridges and even mid-evil toilets.  

 This tree is dated almost 500 years old.  That is one of the things I loved about being in England. There is such a rich history there that you cant help but feel a part of when you are there.  Its like you can almost picture the people who first walked where you walked as you tour places like these.

 The dungeon - spooky!

 Your first glimpse of a handsome gentleman.  Here at the castle, he is my Prince.

 Views from around the area of Skipton.

 Now off to a small town called Downham.  It is owned by Lord Clitheroe and he does not allow modern wires and electrical units to be shown outside - they have to be buried.  This makes the town look quite like it did hundreds of years ago.  The post office there was also the local residents' handy crafts boutique and ice cream parlor.

 View from the churchyard in Downham.

 A quick stop over in Preston, England for a trip to the temple there.  That was neat because it is right across the street from the Missionary Training Center Andy went to when he went on his mission.  We saw a bunch of missionaries leaving the temple when we first got there and they all looked like little babies.  It was cute to think of my man so young and cute.  Not to say he is old now - and he is definitely still cute.

 The roads in England are TINY.  This one was only barely wide enough for our car.

 Pemberley One:  This was the home that they used to depict Pemberley in the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice with darling Colin Firth.  It is actually called Lyme Park.  On the day we went it was not open to see the inside but we had a great time walking the paths around the outside.

 We found this little love seat at the end of one of the garden paths.  I imagine Darcy and his dear Elizabeth sitting there after walking the grounds of their house.  So naturally, we had to take a picture.  My impression of Lyme Park: so pretty, super cool history, fun to play pretend but I liked Chatsworth (2005 version of Pride and Prejudice - Pemberley) better.

 The flowers, however, were stunning.

Oh the places you'll stay - English style

While stayed in bed and breakfast inns throughout our time in England.  We chose them off the internet based off of reviews and pictures.  We were hoping to have remote places or ones in small little English hamlets so we could enjoy a bit of comfort while experiencing what England is really like.  We were not disappointed in any of our B&Bs.  They were marvelous and the hosts were charming, kind people who made our stay tremendously delightful.  Here is a map of the places we went in England.

Poppy Cottage - Carleton, England (near Skipton) - this place was a tiny little village with a pub and a post office and that was nearly it.  You could easily walk its cobbled streets from one end to the other end of the villiage in a few minutes.  The Poppy Cottage Inn is where we stayed while touring Skiption Castle (pictures to come).  The building itself was almost 300 years old, with slate roofs and natural reclaimed wood beams that were taken off old war sailing ships.  The countryside surrounding was everything lovely and the 3 course breakfasts that were made to order were yummy.  

 This is the countryside panoramas we were treated to while in this area of England.

 Our room at Poppy Cottage

 The reclaimed wood from the sailing ships.

 Our view out our window.

Next we stayed at a little B&B called Rushop Hall.  We stayed in a separate building they called The Pepper Pot.  It was its own little cottage with a small kitchenette and bathroom on one floor and a bed and wood burning fireplace in the upstairs.  It was also very charming and being located on a little farm made it so fun.  The roads leading to and from Rushop Hall are tiny though.  Our little rental (no wider than my arm span) was just narrow enough for parts of the road.  We stayed here for a few days while we toured Chatsworth and Lyme Park and while we visited the Preston temple.  Rushop Hall is located in the Peak District which equals beautiful.  It also happens to be in Derbyshire which equals Darcy.

 The back door of the cottage that leads easily to the carpark.

The last place we stayed for a few days was a B&B called The London in Lyme Regis.  It is on the coast and the place was literally up the cliff from the beach.  Our view from the inn was straight ocean.  While we were in Lyme it was really stormy the first day and so all you could see was angry ocean but still quite beautiful.  The morning we left it dawned sunny and lovely.  We forgot to take pictures of the inside of the inn but here is the the view up the street (also a very narrow one - its the English way).  One car at a time each way can make it through.

 The view from the garden at the inn on the morning we left.