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.

The Peaks

Amy and I then headed northward to Derbyshire...the Peaks District! We railed up to Stockport on the Manchester Train, and then transfered to the regional line to Buxton. As the Peaks District National Park covers quite a bit of territory, it is serviced by two rail forks and several separate bus lines. As we had no car, we were faced with a choice: Stay in the East - Derby, Matlock, or Bakewell - and risk missing Lyme Park, or stay in the West, and miss seeing Sudbury Hall. Staying in Buxton would allow us to find lodgings convenient to the train station. It would also allow us to easily access Lyme Park, which is just down the road from the Disley train station on the Buxton line. Getting to Chatsworth would require a bus transfer at Bakewell and a mile's walk, and Sudbury Hall would be nearly inaccesible as it was served by the Derby bus line in the east of the district, but we figured the tradeoff was worth it.

One of the best things about staying in the far north of the heart of England and beyond, we found, was the ease and inexpense of sleeping and eating! The Buxton Tourist Information Center, located in the Baths/Crescent complex, will book you a B&B, provide you with directions, give general information, and present you with bus and rail schedules for ANYWHERE you like - on demand, and for free! A highly recommended twin room in a B&B cost us a mere 37 quid, whereas comparable accommodations closer to London and the Home Counties cost us nearly twice as much! And we didn't need a reservation!

I did Lyme Park - the exterior location for Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice 2 - and Chatsworth - which some say inspired the REAL Pemberley - in a single day. While it is fairly certain that Jane Austen herself had not travelled to this area of England, Maggie Lane, in Jane Austen's England, tells that the young Jane was somewhat familiar with the points of interest through one of her favorite books, William Gilpin's Lakes Tour. Indeed, Lizzy and the Gardiners visit Dove Dale, Matlock, Chatsworth, and The Peak, all mentioned in Gilpin's work.

I took the train to Disley, Cheshire, in the morning, as Lyme Park is just a left turn and ten minutes down Route A6 from the station. From the entrance to the Park, the Hall is a mile hike over several green, sheep- and deer-dotted hills. But what is a mile of good road? An easy distance! A gift of the Legh family to the city of Stockport in 1946, the Hall and park are now run by the National Trust. Locals apparently use the Park for all kinds of outdoor activities...fishing, biking, hiking, school outings, you name it! The house is merely one of several attractions. As I visited on a Thursday, the house itself was closed (Hall closed Thursdays and Fridays), but the gardens were open (they are open nearly every day from March through October)! For 2 pounds, I strolled down "The Pemberley Trail" with a special leaflet prepared by the National Trust. See the spot where Lizzy and Darcy smack into eachother. See the Pond. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

I then took the train back to Buxton, and caught the Transpeak to Bakewell, one of the market towns seen by Lizzy Bennet and the Gardiners. There, I caught yet another bus, and asked to be let off at "The Cuttings" near Pilsley. I then followed the signs to Chatsworth, home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire (Emma Tennant's parents, Stella Tennant's grandparents). It was a dark and drizzly day, but I was armed with Doc Martens and Umbrella. The sight of the great house nestled into the deep green hillside, surrounded by dark mist, was certainly a sight! It was a Marianne Dashwood moment. The house was large and dark, but replete with interesting pieces of furniture, paintings and drawings, and archaeological collections. They also had blazes going in the fireplaces, which was nice. Behind a mock door in the state music room "hangs" a very convincing trompe l'oeil of a violin painted by Jan Van der Vaart. Charming hand-painted, botanic-themed Chinese wallpaper graces the 1830's Queen of Scots apartments. And bits of Greek and Egyptian sculpture decorate the corridors. Italian carvings - and a Rembrandt painting - decorate the sculpture gallery next to the orangery.

The gardens...even in the watery haze of iffy weather...provided the most entertainment that day. I felt like Alice in looking glass world fighting my way through the garden, hardly finding myself further from the house the more I walked. As I walked from garden theme to garden theme - formal rose garden to monolithic cascade to fanciful rock garden to maze and back - I half-expected the Cheshire Cat (I know, wrong county) to appear overhead or beside me. Each area was a new vignette, completely unexpected yet completely logical. Humorous - almost laughably funny. Even the pompous-looking classical statues smattered throughout seemed less interested in taking themselves seriously than I would have thought.

The next day, I headed back to London, where I would do a bit of shopping at Knightsbridge, return to the British Museum, and generally tie up loose ends before leaving for home. In all, it was a great vacation, and I intend to go back very soon!

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