Besides the Tolkien and C.S. Lewis part of our graduation tour of Great Britain in 2004 in Oxford and the Cotswolds we went in search of Jane Austen haunts. We first traveled South to Bath from our B & B in Cheltenham.
While in Bath we visited Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths. You can see Dear and Katie to the left of the statue on the right. If you look straight down from where they are standing you would see the Roman Baths. The Roman Baths are one of the finest historical sites in Northern Europe.
In the middle of the photo across the bath you can see Dear and Katie again.
There is a Jane Austen Centre in Bath where the tour guides dress in period clothing.
“Give a girl an education and introduce her properly into the world, and ten to one but she has the means of settling well, without further expense to anybody. ”
Katie and dear under the Milsom Street Sign in Bath.
Anne and Admiral Croft parted ways. The very next time Anne Elliot walks through Bath, she goes to Molland’s, a pastry cook’s and confectioner’s shop on Milsom street. Jane Austen wrote that the marzipan was delicious.
Another Jane Austen site where we stopped for a photo op was No. 1 Royal Crescent.
No.1 Royal Crescent is a Georgian town house that creates a wonderfully vital picture of life in Georgian Bath.
From Northanger Abbey ~ ‘They arrived in Bath. Catherine was all eager delight; – her eyes were here, there, everywhere, as they approached its fine and striking environs, and afterwards drove through those streets which conducted them to the hotel. She was come to be happy, and she felt happy already’.
After our trip to Bath we left our first B & B and headed to our second location in Sheffield, England. Not my best choice and since this trip I’ve learned a lot about choosing places to stay. We still managed well on our trips out from the B & B to see some nice sites.
The other part of our trip that was in honor of Jane Austen was Chatsworth House and Bakewell in Derbyshire.
These two photos have Chatsworth House in the distance. Jane Austen based Darcy’s family home, Pemberley, after this house. The new Pride and Prejudice movie actually filmed segments here. We were here in 2004 before the new film. The estate was quite breathtaking. The small village of Bakewell close by was very reminiscent of Lambton where Jane and her Aunt and Uncle stayed in Derbyshire.
“Every disposition of the ground was good; and Elizabeth looked on the whole scene — the river, the trees scattered on its banks, and the winding of the valley, as far as she could trace it — with delight.”
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
We loved seeing the daffodils blooming at Chatsworth House.
After we enjoyed the grounds and a tour of Chatsworth house we drove to the village of Bakewell (Lambton) across this bridge. We had to buy a famous Bakewell Tart!
The Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop was an amazing bonus to our time at Chatsworth House. We walked around and wanted to fill a cart with goodies but being travelers we just bought what we could eat then and there. If I was there in this new age of digital I would have taken lots of photos.
“I must learn to be content with being happier than I deserve.” Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
There is so much more to see and do in following the footsteps of Jane Austen and her books. We had to move on in our adventure and we traveled to York where we turned in our rental car and began the railway, bus, walking and tube part of our trip starting in York, then North to Edinburgh and south all the way to London. Those posts are coming soon.
Today is Sunday and we’ve been to church and the grocery store where we bought all the fixins for a slow cooker roast. I’m getting so ready to eat that meal since the aroma is filling the house. Oye. It won’t be done for a couple hours yet! After our beautiful sunny and cold day yesterday we are colder yet today and have rain again. We are promised some nice sunny days this upcoming week. Hope your week goes well!
From Mt. Vernon we traveled a short distance to La Conner for lunch and shopping. I’ll share some photos of our time there next. It was great to have leisurely time together to share about the challenges my oldest sister faces in caring for our dear old pop and the life changes my sister Vera faces in widowhood and moving out of the home she shared with her husband Nick. It’s good to let the tears roll freely and also to be able to laugh heartily with each other. Just for the record…we sisters have four brothers, too.
I’ll add my Bible verse for the letter L…
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 