Lyme Park

The first of our three roadtrips in England took us to Lyme Park. It's a National Trust site showcasing a grand estate and focusing most on its people in the Edwardian Era. So, why would we go there. Simple. It was the home used for Pemberlee in the BBC rendition of Pride and Prejudice. 

So, here's the skinny. Very little filming of the series was actually done here. They used the exterior. They used a lake on the property for the plunge taken by Mr. Darcy that my wife claims is a great cinematic moment. But that's it. The staff here is somewhat apologetic about it. There's a beautiful pond near the home that one thinks is the lake. But it's not. The lake, according to a staff person, is more like a glorified ditch about a one-mile walk from the nearest car park. I think Sherry was a little frustrated by this. But . . .

The weather did us no favours this day. Cold and windy. That obscured what an awesome home this really is.

Further, I love the job the staff did making it more lively. For no charge, one could don Edwardian apparel and tour the home dressed like people of the period. Of course Caroline said yes. Then I followed. Then Sherry and Sam succumbed to the peer pressure.

One final neat touch. They offered a tea at the home, and the price was a little steep. However, the woman tending it cut us a deal, charging only for Sherry and I but giving us plates so Sam and Caroline could share. So, we did get a formal English tea into our trip.

Sherry explains snack options to Sam.

The only drawback was that the trip to Pemberlee meant more driving than I think we expected. It added about 90 minutes to our route from York to Windsor. But I have no regrets. It gave us a chance to drive through the Lake District, which was spectacular (we have no photos: still in the nervous part of driving and the fog cover was pretty thick) and it took us to a home that was out of the way for most American tourists.