A year ago, I decided to plan a trip to England to celebrate my daughter’s 30th birthday and (finally) publishing my first book. The decision to go to England was an easy one, it is the place we’ve talked about visiting for years.
My daughter proved to be an excellent planner and travel companion. Getting us to and from places even in the midst of a train strike. Funny how the mother/daughter relationship flipped with her “taking care of” me.
Her grandmother (my mom) was a world traveler and is responsible for my daughter’s acute interest and love for traveling. Soon my daughter will surpass me in the number of places in the world she has visited. Which I’m sure makes her grandmother in heaven very happy, and she is smiling and traveling along vicariously.
We have always been enthralled with history. British history, in particular. She can and will talk knowledgeably with someone about the British kings and queens until they politely excuse themselves from the conversation.
The intrigue of the Tudors fascinated me as a thirteen-year-old the first time I visited England with my family, and I wanted to share some of the historical sites with her. The Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and Hampton Court Palace were especially cool to visit together.
We even went to SIX the Musical, winner of twenty-three awards, including the 2022 Tony AwardĀ® for Best Original Score. A fun, entertaining show about the six wives of Henry VIII.
While in London we also tapped my interest in WWII with a visit to the Winston Churchill War Rooms. A must-see for anyone who is interested in WWII history.
But the real purpose of our trip was to indulge ourselves in our mutual love of all things related to Jane Austen. And we did just that.
We booked a private tour through https://www.liveforthehills.com. Which I highly recommend if you are ever in the area. Our driver and guide, Mark, was extremely knowledgeable of the Peak District National Park. We were able to choose the sites we wanted to see. If we had more time, we would have gone to them all.
We began our Austen pilgrimage with a visit to Chatsworth House which was used as Pemberley in the 2005 movie and also thought to be Jane Austen’s inspiration for Pemberley in the novel.
Then on to Haddon Hall, which has been recognized as one of the most important medieval houses in England, dating back from the 12th century. Haddon has been used in many historical films and TV productions, including Pride and Prejudice as well as the Princess Bride, Jane Eyre, Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots, and The Other Boleyn Girl.
We also stopped in the market town of Bakewell, which was Jane Austen’s inspiration for Lambton.
Our last stop of the day was at Stanage Edge which has over a thousand identified routes of all different grades and is internationally famous for bouldering. It is also a highly sought-after TV, film, advertising and photographic location. Specifically, and to our delight, the location of the panning shot of Kiera Knightly taking in the breathtaking scenery of the Moors in the 2005 Pride & Prejudice movie.
My daughter and our guide hiked up to the spot so she could stand where Keira stood. I stayed behind and took a less adventurous walk down to Northlees Hall, which was thought to be Charlotte Bronte’s inspiration for Mr. Rochester’s house.
Oh, and for my friends who love the movie Princess Bride, somewhere along the way our guide pointed out the hill they tumbled down.
After this very full day we caught a train down to Bath where we spent three days. We visited the Jane Austen Centre and walked the streets Ms. Austen walked. We enjoyed tea at the famous Pump Room.
On one of the days, we visited the small village of Lacock. (Apropos for a romance writer, right?) The village has been used as a film and television location, notably for the 1995 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice. It also made brief appearances in the Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and in the spin-off film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
Lacock was used for an episode of the Downton Abbey TV series, portraying a livestock market of the 1920s. Scenes from the film Beauty and the Beast were shot here, and scenes for the film version of Downton Abbey included a royal parade.
We traveled back to London and spent our last day exploring Hampton Court Palace, home to King Henry VIII.
Eleven days total, nine travel days. A lot of mother/daughter time.
We recorded my steps at the end of each day.
What we learned or already knew but the trip reminded us:
1. My daughter is not a morning person. No talking before coffee, while I wake up talking.
3. My daughter was savvy with her map apps on her phone. She found our destination while I was still unfolding the paper map.
4. I visited the bathrooms at every stop, she rarely needed to.
5. Pubs, coffee shops, ice cream shops and bookstores were enjoyed by both of us everywhere.
6. Daughter wanted to try different foods, me, not so much.
Definitely a memorable trip we will treasure always.
Anne Stone 