Our last day in England started off with Mom and me walking over to the rest of the group's B&B to wait for the private coach. Thankfully, this time the trip was downhill. ;-) After loading up the bags and saying goodbye to those staying on, we enjoyed a beautiful drive through Wiltshire (I have decided that Wiltshire is the loveliest county) to Lacock Village. Lacock is a village dating from the 13th c. and absolutely filled with adorable old houses! It has also served as a set for many movies including "Pride and Prejudice", "Emma", and "Cranford" and it's no wonder why! The whole village is so quaint and picturesque, it seems too perfect to be a real village. We were able to spend the entire morning there, and found plenty to keep the camera busy! I will refrain from commenting on each one as I think you'd get tired of hearing endless "cute"s, "adorable"s, and "charming"s! ;-)
The main street and the first glimpse of Highbury, er, I mean Lacock...
This cat looked almost exactly like our cat Bingley! Yes, this does officially make us weird cat people...
By far the most charming telephone booth we saw in England!
Is this the cutest store ever, or what?!?
Yet another street brimming with old houses!
*sigh* I want a doorway like that....
Even the gate to the church was charming...
This hilariously photogenic cat saw us get out our camera to take a picture of the building, and immediately went into the pose you see. Once Mom took the picture, he got down! I have a feeling that he's a little too used to getting his picture taken.... ;-)
The Village Hall- I want a village hall like that!!
The letter hole on this door (and all the others in the village) is very reminiscent of Cranford....
Our lunch spot: The Stables Tea Room
Look! It's a stile, just like in "Persuasion"!! :-)
While we were wandering around, a fellow tourist came up and asked me, "Why are you wearing that?". Ummm, because that's what I put on this morning? I can only guess she thought I was dressed in historical clothing!
The flowers matched my dress perfectly!
We like to call this "Bird in Flight"
We call this one "Charming Country Village Sans Giant Manic Birds"
Pity that parking is allowed! I'm sure the residents would beg to differ, though....
After tearing ourselves away, we got back in the coach, drove back to the airport, and boarded our planes. After the day that wouldn't end (literally! Our day was 30 hours long, and I was awake for at least 22), we arrived back in reality...
Sadly, I'm afraid that this is the end. I hope you enjoyed reading about it, I will say that I'm kind of sad to be done; that means that we really aren't there anymore! :-( As Mom half-jokingly described our time since we came back, "Three weeks very dull indeed". ;-) On a positive note, these posts have drawn the biggest crowds in the history of our blog! As I told Dad, that means we have to go back....
Lily, I shall forever hold it against you that you refused to take me along on this trip!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteLacock Village is just so... cute, adorable... charming!! :-) I agree, I want a door like that (that can be the front door, the Jane Austen's house door can be the back door), and a town hall like that, and - how about just a village like that?!? I also love doors that have high handles like that blue one...
Can you tell I am envious???
Two last things I want to know:
1. How many total pictures did you take (did you use all your camera cards? :-)
2. Did you come home with accents?
I am so sad this is the end! :-( Definitely, you must go again - this time, take me with!!!
I haven't had a chance to read what you wrote, but I'll have you know that I was fooled by your cat picture. I've only seen Bingley via Gretel's blog, but your cat pic from England is virtually indistinguishable from Bingley. In fact, Bing and the British cat could probably pull of a Prince-and-the-Pauper-esque switch, assuming that the British cat doesn't meow in cockney.
ReplyDeleteWhat absolutely wonderful photos. Thank you for sharing them. It made me feel like I was almost there - almost. :)
ReplyDeleteVictoria
NOOOOO! You aren't really finished posting about your trip, are you?????
ReplyDeleteI am sooooo jealous. Cranford is my favorite movie and you actually got to go "there"!!!! I want to live in Lacock Village I think! So cute!
When I saw the stile I instantly thought of Persuasion.
"Captain Wentworth, catch me!"
LOL "Because that's what I put on this morning" - I've had to answer those types of questions before with similar answers!
I SOOOOOO enjoyed "traveling" with you to England! Next time we'll come with you in person!
Kathryn,
ReplyDeleteYou are more than welcome to come next time! We'll let you know in advance this time.... ;-)
We took over 1,000 pictures, but after deleting a few repeats, I'm not sure what the official count is... And we only used 1 extra memory card, but better safe than sorry! :-D And no, no accents! A few people did wonder if we loved all the accents over there, but honestly, after watching BBC movies almost exclusively, I think I'm a bit immune... Which is a bit sad, actually...
So glad you enjoyed the posts! :-)
Jeremy,
The only difference between them is the fact that Lacock cat is a bit larger than Bingley!
Victoria,
I'm glad you found my long posts interesting! :-) I do hope you get the chance to go someday, too!
Tara,
*sigh* Yes, this is sadly the end... :-( Lacock is cuter than cute! Next time we'll have to stay in a B&B in the village, that way we'll be able to find out all its defects, before we move. ;-)
LOL!! That's exactly what I thought, too! Unfortunately, there was no Captain Wentworth in the vicinity... ;-D
Lily
I love your posts on your trip to England! :) It was so fun to see you there! Amber told me to look at where you went in London for our trip next time...I love all the Dickens places! We planned out/imagined a 3 and 1/2 week trip...not that we'll ever get to take it. :) It included a night at the Red Lion in Lacock...wouldn't it be fun to have a little group of girls and moms go exploring again?
ReplyDeleteWe had such fun with you during tea at the Pump Room!
So... any luck on trying to convince your dad that ya'll need to go back? ;-)
ReplyDeleteGoing to England always sounded like fun... though... I wouldn't want to go unless I also went to Scotland to see a few castles and see some monuments etc about William Wallace.
BTW, I've given up on the giving blood thing.. :D After all.. what's the fun of giving blood if you don't want to? It would totally ruin the whole experience, not including the fact that it would destroy the very reason why anyone would want to give....
Jaclyn,
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad we were able to get to know your family in England! :-) Actually, I looked through your family's pictures and got several other places to add to our "next" trip! Since we've been home, I've read all the Sherlock Holmes books, so the SH stuff in London would be fun... Oooh, yes! A 3 1/2 week trip sounds just about perfect! Count us in! ;-D
Emil,
Wellllll, no luck so far; although we haven't put the "hard sell" on yet.... ;-) I don't think it would be too hard to convince him to go back, just maybe not this soon. Although you never know.... :-D I would definitely recommend visiting England (though Scotland sounds fun too!), the only problem is that there is more than a lifetime of things to see and study (in only one country!), so no matter how many times you go, you'll still have something on your list for "next time"! But personally, I don't consider that to be a bad problem... ;-)