Friday, October 5, 2012

Peak and Lake Districts


The view from our hostel in the Peak District. 

After our trip to Barcelona, Todd, Jonelle, and I spent two days in the Peak District and two days in the Lake District here in England. Todd found a great hostel for us with such a beautiful view and a good local pub nearby. 

We spent the first day visiting Lyme Park. The house used as the exterior of Pemberley, the fictional estate of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. 


Kelly reaches Pemberley
Jonelle in front of the lake at Lyme Hall...is that Mr. Darcy's I hear?
Todd and Kelly in the gardens at Lyme Hall

We toured the house, but as taking pictures was not allowed, I have no pictures to show here. The house was lovely and we had a wonderful chat with one of the volunteers here about many things British. 

Along with the house and gardens, Lyme Park has 1300 acres of land that includes some amazing views of the Peak District. The picture below shows the view and includes The Cage, that once housed the estate's gamekeepers.

View from the grounds at Lyme Hall

The second day in the Peak District we spent the entire day at Chatsworth House and Gardens. The lady at Lyme Park described Chatsworth House as a palace. It was all very impressive!



Chatsworth House

The inside of the house was really just one elaborate and overwhelming room after the next. It is hard to believe that people still live in this amazing house.

A few of the rooms in Chatsworth House

Along with the elaborate decor, the house displays many priceless pieces of art that are owned by the family.



We stopped to have a traditional tea at one of the restaurants on the grounds at Chatsworth. It was my first proper tea in England and a lot of fun to share with a friend from home. 

Traditional Tea at Chatsworth House

Outside the house, we spent a lot of time walking the grounds. The picture below I included so you could see the massive size of the "house" as seen from the garden. 

Chatsworth House

The garden includes a 300 year old water cascade that runs down a 200 foot hill, rock gardens, and a maze that I got quite lost in.


The Cascade

Jonelle and Kelly at the top of the water cascade. 
The rock garden

Overlooking the maze 

A better picture of The Maze can be seen here. Even with this picture I can't figure out how to get to the center!  

View of the gardens from inside Chatsworth House

Then, on our drive from the Peak District to the Lake District (a two hour journey) we encountered a herd of beagles. 



A HERD OF BEAGLES PEOPLE!!!!! I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!!! Forget the beautiful views of mountains, we had to sit and wait until the HERD OF BEAGLES passed us! The dogs were unphased by our high pitched calls of "PUPPIES!!!" (ok, it was only me yelling this, but the dogs were still undeterred).  




(And yes, I do know that it would actually be a pack of beagles not a herd, but they were definitely being herded down the road by what I assume was their owners/trainers, so I'm sticking with a herd of beagles.)

In the Lake District, we stayed at a very nice bed and breakfast beside a lake called "Derwent Water" in the town of Keswick. 

The town of Keswick nestled between the peaks.

In Keswick, we checked out all the cute shops in the town and had some great soup at the Dog and Gun Pub that displayed a sign saying "All Dogs Welcome". It's not uncommon for dogs to be allowed in the pubs in England, but these tired pups were taking over the joint:


Dog and Gun Pub
The second day in the Lake District we headed to a town called Penrith where we did some more shopping and bought some carrot cake!

We had a great visit with Jonelle and it gave us an excuse to go and see some beautiful sights! Jonelle and I spent the following day laying around the house and watching Bridget Jones movies (we needed some more Mr. Darcy) before she headed back to the States.