Travelling Austen's England - My Itinerary and Experiences, June, 1997
	This journal tracks my sixteen day journey through England. The trip was made with my friends, Rebecca Davey, Arnessa and Dee Garrett, and Amy Rider. My eternal thanks to them for their companionship, to Bernie Parkin for her asssistance in planning the trip, and to Kathleen Grant and Joan Winsor for their scanning efforts.

Part Two - Salisbury and Lyme Regis

Yet again, we railed out of Waterloo for a day in the Salisbury area. The Wilts & Dorset busses stop right at the train station, and will take you to Stonehenge and Wilton House, home of the Earl of Pembroke. You can buy full day unlimited use tickets, which are handy if you plan on also seeing the 'Hengelike stones at Avebury (you can touch these) and the big mound of dirt at old Sarum.

Stonehenge, even though you can't get extremely close, is still a sight to be seen...you can walk all the way around it, take pictures, and check out the burial mounds nearby. Who really needs more? Oh yes, and there is, as ever, the Ubiquitous British Gift Shop. I've grown to like those.

Wilton House, in Wilton (surprise!), was one of the filming locations for the 1995 Sense and Sensibility film adaptation. They shot the ball scene in the "Double Cube" Room, which measures in volume two perfect cubes (I forget the exact measurements) and was designed by Inigo Jones. It was here also where the Normandy invasion was planned, as the house served as British Command during World War II. The Salisbury area was and remains in heavy use by the army and RAF, where they do weapons training and, historically, based planes. Wilton's grounds are lovely, with a little river, Chinese garden, and lots of sheep and ducks. Also at Wilton is a special exhibit of Jane Austen-related stuff, including costumes worn by Kate Winslet (Marianne Dashwood), Emma Thompson (Elinor Dashwood), and Harriet Walter (Fanny Dashwood). They've also got information on the famous silk mill (near Wilton) which produces the fabrics used in many JA and other period adaptations. Oh yes, and a board dedicated to the productions of the Earl himself, a mover in the British film industry.

In Salisbury proper, you can visit Mompesson House (National Trust Listing), which stood in for Mrs. Jennings' London Home. Upstairs is where Marianne cried herself into a frenzy over Willoughby, and outside - in the cathedral close - is where the Col. convinced Elinor to offer Edward the vicarship at Delaford. The place is run by the National Trust.

Nearby is Salisbury Cathedral, where you can make a rubbing of the famous knight guy with his hands together in prayer and the dog at his feet. This is one holy place in England (along with Bath Abbey and Westminster Abbey, for reasons well known, among others) which actually forces you to enter through a donation-windowed doorway...and directly guilts you into making a "suggested" gift. It's probably a good idea to reserve two or three pounds for every church you enter...I tended to reserve my donation money for lighting candles...paying for a prayer. Salisbury is also the inspiration for several of Thomas Hardy's fictional towns...including the one in Jude the Obscure, Jude then being a stonecutter at this cathedral.

The next day, we were off to Lyme Regis (web site), the "Pearl of Dorset." It was a two-hour ride through lovely countryside to the town of Axminster, where we directly caught the National Express Line 31 bus to Lyme. Those of you who have seen Emma2 will remember the beautiful Dorsetshire landscape...which you will definitely see on this bus ride! Rolling hills, green forests, charming cottages and villages...no one that has witnessed Dorset in person could find anything lacking! Lyme Regis itself is a quirky little place perched in a little canyon above and directly on the sea. Once there, we walked along the cobb - from which Louisa Musgrove jumps in Persuasion and its 1995 film adaptation - and the gun battlements. We attempted to brave the "Granny's Teeth," the set of oddly-set oblong stone rectangles fashioned into steps from which Louisa actually jumped. We had a lunch of granary bread and brie on the battlements, and hung out at a bookstore (apparently one of the locations used in The French Lieutenant's Woman, which was filmed at Lyme), looking up the appropriate passages in a copy of Persuasion.

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