Some Moors (not S'Mores)

Did you have to read Wuthering Heights in school?  I did.  So I made Rebecca read it, too.  It just seemed fair.  Then she also read Jane Eyre just for fun.

What do I think about most when I heard of these titles?  For some reason, I just always think of moors.  In fact, that is the landscape that most comes to mind when I think of any English novel.  And I've always wanted to see the moors, especially while they're blooming.  But I didn't think about that when I made our plane reservations for September, I promise.  So it was just an added blessing that we got to see heather blooming on the moors (I wasn't even sure we'd see moors since I worried we wouldn't be in the exact right location).

The first place we spotted the heather was right outside the Brontë Parsonage.  We opted not to pay to see the inside of the house but instead take a walk that the Brontë sisters would have taken.  When I saw the blooming heather, I sort of went crazy with the photos.  I didn't know at the time that we would be seeing this stuff all over the place in northern England.

In addition to the heather, there is this tall pink flower blooming everywhere.  I really liked it, and I asked our hostess, Zena, what it was and tried to write down what she said.  I wrote down "Rosebay willow hub" at first.  That's what it sounded like to me!  Turns out it is sort of the kudzu of England.

Chatsworth Country Fair

This was the day for me where I felt the least like an American tourist.  One of our goals was to goals was to get just a little bit immersed in the English culture.  So we visited Chatsworth (home of the Cavendish family - a.k.a. the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire) on the day of the local country fair.

Chatsworth was significant to us because in the latest movie version of Pride and Prejudice, Chatsworth serves as the setting of Pemberley, the home of the famed Mr. Darcy.  There is also a great little documentary on Netflix right now that tells all about Chatsworth.

First of all, I had to ask some questions of our guide to get my nobility terms straight.  Turns out that a duke is the next thing to a prince.  An earl is below a duke.  You can buy an earldom for $10,000 pounds (or rather you could a several hundred years ago).  But the only way you can become a duke is if the reigning sovereign grants you that title.  This family got their dukedom from William of Orange.  They have had it for 16 successive generations, and their house is basically full of 16 generations of priceless artwork.  Good thing the house is huge!

We enjoyed looking at their artwork and collections, but really it's hard for me to take in and appreciate that much stuff.  I know you wouldn't enjoy it second-hand on my blog.

So I'll tell you the best parts for me -

Playing the duchess's Steinway.  What was really cool is that she had music books laying out.  That's really good for me because I don't play that much by memory.  Rebecca and I both took a turn.  Yes, I'm playing with a backpack on.

I also loved the dining room.  They had a table cloth on the table with names of famous people - some dead, some alive, some fictional, etc.  They asked those touring the house to take a seat and think of who we would invite if we were in charge of a dinner party,  Rebecca and I have had a lot of fun thinking about that question, and I may blog about it some more some day.

But more than the house, I enjoyed the fair.  I loved just seeing all the dogs (seems like everyone here has a dog that they take everywhere, and there is such a huge variety - I saw many dog breeds that I'd only ever seen pictures of before).  They had all kinds of dog competitions.  They had hunting trials (basically go-fetch competitions), dog agility, and "rabbit" chasing with a fake rabbit.  Only amateur dogs less than three years old were allowed to compete.  Some were good, but some were really bad.  

The emcee was also a hoot.  At one point he said "This show is basically crap.  But it's quality British crap!"  

The best act we saw was a Ukranian Cossack Riding Team.  This was not a crap act.  It was truly thrilling to watch, and we had front row seats.

The duchess was at the fair to give out some awards, and there was a private tent (basically an open bar) for the "Cavendish Club" which is I guess all the sixteen generation of relatives that weren't in the direct line for the dukedom.  

We also saw the Red Arrows (UK version of the Blue Angels) and the day ended with hot air balloons.  

Cambridge and Bakewell

All the guidebooks say that Cambridge beats Oxford.  Cambridge was less crowded, had WAY less traffic and had a prettier campus.  But for me, it did not have the impact that Oxford did.  Maybe because Cambridge's most famous grad is Charles Darwin.  The idea that science has all the answers has weakened my faith at times, whereas C..S. Lewis's writings have done much to strengthen it.

Cambridge also had lots of guys trying to sell us a boat ride (at least they were good-looking college guys!).  We were trying to save money, so we opted for a stroll instead.  They were right about one thing, it was a perfect day for punting!

One challenge on this day (and several days since) has been parking.  We were a 30 min walk away from our car when I realized we could NOT renew our payment over the internet as I had thought.  I left Rebecca drawing in the botanical gardens while I rushed back to the car.  When I was still a ways off, I spotted a policeman and broke out in a run. My running impressed him so he didn't give me a ticket. Maybe that running this summer paid off!

Our next day was spent driving to the Peak District and hanging out in Bakewell, a delightful little town.  We were glad to be off the motorways and onto the little English roads, though my driving skill was supremely challenged.  The English make a two-way road where we wouldn't think it wide enough for even one car.  If you meet another car, you have to be prepared to back up down a curvy hill with high walls on each side, for instance.

In Bakewell, we ate baked goods because they're famous for them.  They were interesting, but almost any Southern cook can top them with one hand tied behind their back.  But the town was full of cute shops.  We loved watching the locals lawn bowling, and I loved wandering around the old churchyard.  It may sound morbid, but I love reading old tombstones.  They make me want to live a life worth remembering.

I leave you with one of many funny signs we have seen on our trip:

Day 5 - C.S. Lewis Day

Rebecca and I are both big fans of C.S. Lewis.  I read many of his books years ago, when I didn't quite want to admit that I didn't understand all of them.  But like all classics, they are better with a second reading (maybe because we benefit from reading them with more maturity).  I always appreciate how C.S. Lewis came to faith through the path of skepticism.  His writing has helped me deal with my own doubts and bring me to deeper faith.

Rebecca grew up a huge fan of Narnia.  She even had a little room built off her bedroom that had a door painted to look like a wardrobe.  In the little room, she painted murals of Narnia and decorated a pipe that ran through it to look like a lamp post.  In college, she took a whole semester on the writings of C.S. Lewis.

So it was with this background that we approached Oxford.  It was like a pilgrimage of sorts for us.  We first went to a guided tour of the Kilns, where Lewis lived and met with his friends.  We heard lots of lively anecdotes from our guide. People still live in the house (students at Oxford who are in the C.S. Lewis Society), so there were even dishes in the sink and meat thawing on the stove.  We were told over and over that Lewis was a lousy housekeeper, so I'm sure the place looked better than when he lived there.

After that we visited Lewis's church which was close by.  We had to hunt out back for his tombstone. He is buried with his brother, Warnie.

Then we traveled by bus to the center of Oxford and took a C.S. Lewis walking tour that I had printed out before we left the states.  It pretty much involved three things - pubs, churches, and academic buildings (note how I made use of the "Oxford comma" in that sentence).  I really enjoyed finding all the sites ourselves.  It was like a scavenger hunt.  The guide gave quotes from Lewis or his friends to read along the way, and we really took our time with it.  Magdalen College was beautiful.

This is the church on campus where Lewis preached his famous "Weight of Glory":

And these are some of the views of Oxford I saw when I climbed to the top of the church tower:

We finished off with a trip to the Eagle and the Child pub, where Lewis met with the Inklings every Tuesday morning in the "Rabbit Room."

Navigating our trip - Days 3 and 4

Not all of this post is about navigation, but that was the main tie-in I could think of between these two days.

On our third day in London, we slept in a bit and then to a walk to the Metropolitan Tabernacle for Sunday Services.  This is where Spurgeon preached.  It was quite a contrast to the Evensongs we attended.  The place was packed, there was hearty congregational singing, and preaching from the word.  Unfortunately what stuck out the most to both of us was the guest preacher's extreme comb-over.  I have never seen anything like it.  Wish I had a photo!

Then that afternoon we headed to Greenwich the home of the Royal Observatory and the place where all the breakthroughs were discovered that were used in maritime navigation.  Somehow I had not stopped to think that the observatory would be on a hill.  We arrived quite breathless.  It cost $16 each to go in the observatory and get your picture made on the golden Prime Meridian out in front.   There was also a huge line.  I reasoned that since lines have no beginning or end, there must be a place to stand out back that would work.  It cost no money to go there.  I asked a gal who worked there if there was a certain place we could stand out back to be right on the Meridian.  She spoke very quietly and told me she could not tell me but that an observing person could quickly "work it out."  Wasn't hard at all, and we felt ever so clever to skip both the expense and the long wait.

On our way back from Greenwich, ironically, we had a big navigation mishap.  We had decided to take the bus (we had arrived by boat).  We found our correct bus # just as a bus pulled up.  We congratulated ourselves on our brilliant timing and piled on the bus with everyone else.  We were confused right at first because it seemed we were going in the wrong direction.  I assumed the route was just a loop, but as time went on, we seemed to be getting further and further from London.  Finally we got to the end of the line and had to get out.  It was a pretty run down looking area, and we were the only ones speaking English.  We also weren't sure there was enough fare on our Oyster cards, and they don't take other forms of payment for the bus.  But after 10 min, a bus came going the other direction, our cards worked,  and we arrived back safe and sound after a very long ride. 

The next morning we said goodbye to our hostess, Kathryn.  We will see her again when we return to London for the last 3 days of our trip.  

We picked up a rental car at Heathrow.  After paying, they sent us to the lot and told us to pick out any car in zone 2.  We saw thus rather ugly orange and white one, and Rebecca reasoned it would always be easy to find.  So we claimed it.  The the attendant told us we had chosen wisely because this model had a built-in GPS whereas most zone 2 cars don't.  They had tried to sell us one as an expensive add-on.

Turns out we have really needed that navigator.  If we used Google maps on our phones, we would easily spend $50 a day in data.  Of course, we could use a map I guess but that would be so last century. 

Rebecca has turned out to be an excellent navigator and sign interpreter.  I am just trying to keep the car in the right gear and keep the car on the proper side of the road!  We got lots of practice the first day - once going through 8 back-to-back roundabouts.  And this is not the same as going through the same roundabout 8 times!  So far I have only gone through the same one twice which is at least preferable to taking the wrong exit and having to do a U-turn (I've done that, too).

Fortunately, Brits are the most polite drivers I have ever seen.  I was beeped at just 4 times that first day and I deserved it far more.  Even when they beep, it's just a quick warning thing - not a lay on your horn and give you a dirty look thing.  

We drove from the airport about an hour and a half to Rockingham Castle.  Lovely spot, and we saw a fun Viking reenactment there.

Then we drowe to Raunds where we are staying with an old friend from Tennessee.  She took us to a restaurant with traditional English fare. There is not much to recommend about English food, but sticky toffee pudding is an exception! In fact, Rebecca and I will give them a pass for everything else since they invented toffee.