As some of you may already know ,I am lucky enoguh to have a copy of Carey's New Itinerary or an Accurate Delineation of the Great Roads both Direct and Cross throughout England and Wales(1798).

This also lists the inns where you could find refreshments, hire post chasies or new horses etc as you travelled across and around the country.

What is really intersting , for me at least , is that my copy has been annotaeded by its original owner in an "Egon Ronay" style, rating most of the inns with a code

Davises is lssited as having two inns in 1798:The Black Bear and The Castle and Ball.

The Black Bear is still extant, click here to go to it's website. It is now known as "The Bear".

The Castle hotel is still there too, though now it is only known as The Castle. Go here to view it's website.

My Cary's Owner Number 1 has given the Black Bear an " e" in his ratings scheme,and has ignored the Castle completely." E" meant that the whole inn,it's food ,accommodations, staff and situation etc., was rated by him as "Good".

So I wonder which one JA visited,as she does not mention its name? They had lovely food there,and the children were very impressed by the cheesecake. I'd lke to think it was the Bear
;-)

And I thought you would all like to see that you can, if you care to, still recreate these journeys made by JA and her ilk some 200 years ago;-)