Day 14 -- The Lake District, Hill Top (Beatrix Potter), Hawkshead, and Yew Tree Farm

Tuesday, August 7th

The Lake District

This part of our journey was perhaps our favorite. The natural beauty of the Lake District, combined with the charm of stone farmhouses, fields of sheep, and rambling stone walls, was almost overwhelming.




We stopped at a lake near the village of Sawrey. The weather was glorious, and the sun was sparkling on the rippling waves of the lake.




Can you imagine anything more beautiful than this? You really must click on this picture to enlarge it and get the full effect:




Sawrey -- Beatrix Potter's Hill Top

We arrived in Sawrey more than a half an hour before Hill Top opened because we had heard about the long lines to get in. What a blessing that we did! Here are some pictures from the village of Sawrey:


After viewing the house, we went next door and had tea at the Buckle Yeat Guest House. The scones and cream in England are certainly worth writing home about! Notice Mr. McGregor on the bench outside...



This friendly neighbor lived just across from the entrance to the Hill Top gift shop:



...And some pictures of Hill Top and its lovely garden:








In her will, Beatrix Potter left Hill Top to the National Trust with the condition that everything be kept exactly as she had left it. Hence, every piece of furniture and every painting is what she had in the house. It was so lovely, with its wide hearth in the front room and a beautiful four-poster bed in her bedroom.

Mom had been e-mailing a lady named Elizabeth who kept a B&B just down the road. We had a lovely little visit with her. Here is a view from her driveway:




Hawkshead

We stayed at the Red Lion Inn in the charming village of Hawkshead, only two miles from Hill Top.




Hawkshead was overflowing with tourists and flowers.



You could not go into a single shop without seeing some sort of Beatrix Potter merchandise! This was my favorite shop proprietor:


Wordsworth once stayed in a house in this street (but I think I like the former name better!):



We visited the Beatrix Potter gallery, which is located in the former offices of her husband, William Heelis, a local attorney. Some of her original drawings and paintings are kept there -- in very low light. As lovely as her paintings are in books and prints, nothing can compare to the crystal clarity and vibrancy of her original drawings!

We took a long ramble on the footpaths outside Hawkshead. One of the most wonderful things about England is that you can wander about the countryside on footpaths and drink in the scenery. They are not strictly for hikers (although Tiffany and I did get funny looks as we scrambled about in full-length skirts!). Here is a glimpse of what we saw on our walk:










One of my favorite English flowers, the foxglove:




Yew Tree Farm

Yew Tree Farm was the setting used as Hill Top in the film "Miss Potter" (Hill Top itself was deemed too delicate to use for the film). I had not really included it in our itinerary, but Mom convinced us to go -- and we are certainly glad that we did! We actually visited on the morning of the 15th, but I've included it here just to keep things simple. There is a National Trust car park near the farm, from which you can explore some trails. Here I am spanning a terrifying gap in the path caused by a raging torrent of water...*ahem*


...and some other views of the waterfall and the forest:


Oops!






We had tea at Yew Tree Farm. Could there possibly be a more beautiful setting?




There were many sheep in the field across the road -- this breed is the Herdwick, a breed that Beatrix Potter specialized in when she became a farmer in the Lake District. The lambs have not been shorn, so you can see the lovely dark color of the wool:



Here is one of the props used in the movie "Miss Potter:"



Well, I don't think I can cram any more pictures into this post! I hope you enjoyed your little tour through the Lake District as much as we did.

Day 20 -- Oxford and Highclere Castle

Monday, August 13th

Oxford

Monday, August 13th Our last full day of sightseeing in England was bound to be a day of sadness, but the anticipation of seeing Oxford and Highclere was sufficient to keep our spirits up.

We did not have any specific destinations in Oxford, although there were a few sights that we wanted to see. At a friend’s suggestion we used the Park and Ride, which proved very helpful. The only thing worse than driving on English country roads is driving on English city roads!

We found the perfect place for Dad, who is a teacher at a classical school:



Although I didn’t know what it was at the time, I took a picture of the Oxford Martyrs’ Memorial.



I later found out that it was erected (as it says on the monument): "To the Glory of God, and in grateful commemoration of His servants, Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer, Prelates of the Church of England, who near this spot yielded their bodies to be burned, bearing witness to the sacred truths which they had affirmed and maintained against the errors of the Church of Rome, and rejoicing that to them it was given not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for His sake; this monument was erected by public subscription in the year of our Lord God, MDCCCXLI”

How Providential that I took a picture of it!

Just down the street from the memorial was the Eagle and Child -- or the “Bird and Baby,” as it was affectionately known by a group that met there. That group was the Inklings, whose members included such names as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. We went inside and saw the room where they met.



Naturally, we stopped by several bookstores. The best in Oxford is Blackwells, which has a story devoted to used books, and another that houses extremely rare books. We browsed in the rare section, admiring the books through their glass cases. The sumptuous leather bindings made my mouth water. We even saw a three-volume set of one of Charlotte Brontë’s novels – published under her original pseudonym, Currer Bell!



A few more sights from Oxford.











These rather peculiar fellows (no pun intended) graced the pillars of a courtyard. I rather wonder what they were intended for…



Highclere Castle

We were a bit rushed getting out of Oxford, as we wanted to get to Highclere Castle before closing. Through the graciousness of the tour guides, we were able to go inside before it closed, and were very glad we had made it in time! Highclere was used as Mistlethwaite Manor in the 1980’s version of “The Secret Garden,” and also as Totleigh Towers in the hilariously funny “Jeeves and Wooster” series. It is imposing on screen, but nothing can compare to seeing it in person. The library stretched for almost the entire length of the house, with shelf upon shelf of beautifully bound books. Our tour guide was quite delightful and chatty. She told us all about the earls, past and present, and even let us step into a bedroom for a moment to get a glimpse of the marble bathroom beyond. One of the previous earls had an interest in Egyptology, and was one of the men who helped discover Tutankhamen’s tomb (this explained the Egyptian exhibit advertised on their website! I had been racking my brain to decipher why an English country house would have such an exhibit…). Tiffany and I rambled around the beautiful grounds:



Highclere is absolutely breathtaking from any angle:



Here is one of the “follies” built by a previous earl.


We took one last, lingering look at Highclere from the car park, without the bustle of tourists that usually crowded the other places we saw. It was almost twilight on a grey, drizzly day, and the great mansion stood alone against the darkening sky.