Pemberley (aka Lyme Park)

Pemberley sits on the border of Cheshire and Derbyshire, and Miss Elizabeth Bennet was correct, "I have never seen a house so happily situated."

The reflection lake lives up to its name, creating the perfect mirror image of the house on its calm surface.

The gardens are small and mostly informal, preference is given to a more natural arrangement that sees the trees and the woodlands as champion features. The parkland is extensive, with wide views stretching out over Derbyshire below, a deer herd roam the moor-like land.

Of course, Lyme Park celebrates its fame as the Pemberley in the BBCs adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. Visitors can dress in full regency attire as they wander the opulent house and beautiful grounds, all the while imagining the life Mrs Darcy married into.

The Orangery

The angle we are most familiar with, is actually the rear of the house. And despite what the television series would have us believe, the driveway to the house doesn't go past the lake at all. Still, it was magical to see this beautiful place with my very own eyes. And no, I didn't pull on a busty regency frock, nor was Alex tempted by the velvet overcoats and top hats on offer.

I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation. It was too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun. 

Jane Austen.

Kate  x

"God's own county" Yorkshire: Part Two

On the cusp of Samhain as the sun goes down, the floodlit remains of a tenth century monastery takes on an other worldly atmosphere. We arrived at the ghostly ruins of Fountains Abbey as the sky turned to pastel shades of pink and blue, and stayed until the clouds began to part and the stars appeared above us. 

Seeing the silhouette of the abbey against the darkening sky as monastic hymns carried through the ruins was incredibly magical.

We sat in a now-empty window of what was once the cellarium, where the Benedictine monks would have eaten and slept, to hear the choir perform their beautiful music. 

And with another Samhain observing the end of the harvest season behind us, we now begin to think of all things Christmas.

Kate  x

The world-famous garden at Stourhead

Stourhead is always a popular place for visitors, but that is especially true in the autumn months when the trees put on a spectacular show and tourists flow in to see a riot of burnt oranges and yellows. 

We arrived first thing, when the early morning shadows were still long and the sun hadn't quite risen high enough to dry out the dewy lawn on the banks of the lake. But this meant the lake path was still relatively quiet. It was a perfect early autumn morning, crisp but sunny with no breeze, giving the added bonus of a completely still lake that acted like a mirror, reflecting the autumn foliage perfectly.

The Pantheon is the primary feature, the temple of Apollo a close second. But as you make your way around the lake to the Pantheon, there are other surprises. Grottos and follies have been built into the landscape, hidden until you come upon them suddenly. They're peaceful places, classical style statues spout water, and carefully placed 'windows' draw the gaze across the lake. The path passes by this scene too. The Gothic Cottage with its flaming tree on the doorstep looks like something from a Grimms Brothers fairytale. 

The Stourhead estate is more than a Palladian mansion with impressive landscaped gardens. It is comprised of over 1000 hectares of land, the village of Stourton, as well as farmland and woodland. These cottages, on the estate, are both lived in and rented out as holiday lets.

By mid to late October the trees are really at their best, but even when we visited almost a fortnight ago they were pretty colourful, showing signs of what is to come.

Really though, I imagine its an estate worth exploring no matter the season. I think it would be spectacular on a bright winter morning blanketed in a hoar frost.

Kate  x

A very dapper house

Can a house be dapper?

If it is indeed possible, Montacute House in southern Somerset, would surely take the cake. Or bow tie & bowler hat, probably.

We visited last month, and it was well worth the drive down there from north Wiltshire. Look at that driveway! In fact, the whole village is picture perfect.

The 'grandness' of Montacute is especially impressive as it was originally built by a family of yeomen farmers who rose in status to become one of the preeminent families in the district. Montacute has a long history and consequently a roll call of notable tenants. Once home to Sir Edward Phelips, a key prosecutor against the gunpowder plotters, and for a short while, Lord Curzon.

The yew hedges in the formal gardens are almost as handsome as the house, at the very least they are tall, well groomed and in places quite quirky, very befitting of a house such as Montacute.

These days, Montacute boasts a small collection of works owned or entrusted to the National Portrait Gallery. They hang in what is the longest 'long gallery' in England. At 53 metres in length, it runs the entire width of the house, and was once used as a sort of exercise room. When the weather was too bad to be outdoors, the family would walk up and down the gallery to get their daily steps in. Pre pedometer times call for such measures I suppose.

The lawn was being put to good use the afternoon we visited. A group of silver-haired locals had gathered to play croquet. If it weren't for their 21st Century attire, I am sure the scene would have looked not unlike that of a summer afternoon a century or two ago. 

The everlasting sweet peas were living up to their name, still in flower and reaching high, even at the very end of summer.

This is what passed for graffiti in the 18th Century. And in the library no less!

See those quirky yew hedges, trimmed to imitate the irregular shapes of clouds perhaps? I love how they're allowed to grow into that undulating, almost pulsing, formation along the pathway.

An Elizabethan mansion is always going to be predictably impressive, but Montacute House is beautifully kept and somehow 'elevated' above other homes of the same era that I've visited. It might be the orderly garden with just the right amount of quirk. It might be the collection of exquisite and historically important portraits. Or it might just be that sweeping driveway, emphasising the perfect symmetry of the house.

What ever the magic of Montacute, I stand by the 'dapper' description.

Kate  x

The Lake District, Part One: Hill Top Farm

Visiting Hill Top Farm in the Lake District filled me with so much excitement and childhood nostalgia. I can't remember a time before the tales were a part of my life. I watched The World of Beatrix Potter over and over again as a child, my Mum having recorded as many episodes as possible on VHS. Remember doing that with your favourite TV shows?

I even, for a few seconds in the gift shop, contemplated buying them on DVD... but knowing how the story of VHS ended I am anticipating DVD to die a similar death soon. Luckily though I found them on youtube, HERE, if you're interested in a walk down memory lane. I realised when watching some of it that the opening and closing sequences were filmed in and around Hill Top. I don't know why that surprised me, but again, it adds to their charm. These will always be the best small screen adaptations of Beatrix's work. There is a magic to them that is lost in the modern computer animation versions.

Anyway, back to Hill Top. Beatrix's beloved farmhouse is in a tiny Cumbrian village called Near Sawrey, where the neighbours are sheep.

Her home is a time capsule to her inspiration, her curiosity, her brilliance. I'll admit, I had to suppress some tears on the doorstep. What a magical world she had inside her mind.

In each room is a little corner recognisable in her work. The staircase from Samuel Whiskers, a sideboard from the same tale. All over this part of the Lakes are the real life scenes immortalised in her little books. Her husband's solicitors offices in Hawkshead feature in The Pie and the Patty Pan. The garden path at Hill Top is drawn in The Tale of Tom Kitten. I think if I read back through all the tales now, I'd recognise so, so many of her real world inspirations.

This is what she called her entrance hall, a typical room in farmhouses in this district, a room that is more commonly referred to as the firehouse or houseplace by Lakeland farmers. It is obviously the heart of her home. Repeatedly featured in The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Tale of the Roly Poly Pudding. 

It feels very untouched, much like she just walked out of the door.

Her love of nature is evident in all the curiosities and collections that the farmhouse holds. 

About a one mile hike up from Near Sawrey is Moss Eccles Tarn, a favourite fishing spot of Beatrix and her husband, Mr William Heelis. We had beautiful sunny weather when we walked up. Quiet, except for the sheep in the fields.

On the banks of the tarn heather is in bloom. Bright, iridescent blue dragonflies were flitting about. It was entirely impossible to capture them with the camera as they are so quick, just a flash of brilliant blue on the surface of the water.

It was so warm and sunny that I pulled off my wellies and socks to paddle.

On the same day we checked out other National Trust properties in the area. The Beatrix Potter Gallery in her husband's old offices at Hawkshead is rather lovely, and free for trust members. The Little Ice cream Shop around the corner is also worth a stop.

Wray Castle is very close by, but I think if you weren't a member of National Trust it wouldn't be value for money. It was actually built in victorian times as a retirement home for a couple with clearly too much money and time on their hands, and little sense. It is completely empty, so in essence it is just a house without any tangible history, charm or personality. The views are spectacular from the front entry though. On the afternoon we stopped by the skies were roaring with fighter jets and spitfires flying low over Lake Windermere for no conceivable reason.

Townend, on the other hand is a very pretty and rather interesting National Trust property at Troutbeck. It is a 17th century farmhouse with similarly old farm buildings and barns. Owned and occupied by the same family for about 5 or so generations it is very well preserved and contains much of their loved possessions. With 400 years of family history, there are some treasures in the house, including 45 books in the library that are the only remaining copies in the world.The kitchen is so beautiful and contains some spectacular hand carved furniture, made by one of the men who lived there.

I love an outbuilding, and the washing room at Townend is so pretty. Lace edged aprons hanging on an airing rack gives the place such atmosphere.

This is the view over the top of the centuries old barn, still used by the farm across the road.

Signs of summer are still surprisingly abundant in the Lakes. Hydrangeas are everywhere, in all the villages, the odd foxglove is still in bloom along the drystone walls too.

Beatrix Potter called the Troutbeck Valley her favourite in the Lake District. It is very pretty, traditional fell farming still very much the focus of the district. 

It is such a priceless legacy Beatrix created and left for the British public. With UNESCO World Heritage status just being given to the Lake District, hopefully these beautiful valleys, fells, lakes and farms will remain just as they are for always.

Kate  x