Breathtaking Piece of Folly: Lyme Park/Pemberley

Jane Bennet: No, seriously, Lizzy. When did you first know you were in love with Mr. Darcy?
Elizabeth Bennet: It came on so slowly I hardly know... but I believe I must date it from the time I first saw his wonderful grounds at Pemberley.

We forgot to take photos until this morning (had too much fun visiting last night) and by that time Ian was the only one left at home so we only have a shot of the two cousins together. I figure no photos just gives us another excuse to get together again some day. Besides, Lesley needs a chance to play in my mom's scrapbook room!

Ian has the day off work today so we asked him if he wanted to come along to see Lyme Park, a stately home with expansive gardens. His response was, “I'm not that old yet!” I think National Trust sites are often seen as an afternoon outing for retired people, but I love them! The sites are full of fascinating history and the National Trust has done an impressive job of providing interesting information for each site, both through written placards in most rooms as well as volunteers throughout the buildings who are available to answer questions. They're also meticulous about restorations. Purchasing Heritage Canada membership in order to gain free access to the National Trust sites is one of the best decisions I made when I moved here! My parents took out a family membership so much of our site-seeing is based on National Trust sites.

When I first started planning this trip with my parents I asked them if there was anything in particular they wanted to see over here. The two answers were “Stonehenge” and, “That place where Mr. Darcy goes swimming in the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice.” I don't think there will be any difficulty in guessing which parent made which request. Today we visited Lyme Park and took our time exploring the beautiful home and gardens – definitely one of the more impressive National Trust sites.

Shortly after arrival we stopped at the on-site cafe for lunch - we all ordered this salmon spread starter and it was delicious! I love the way they served it in a little pot on wooden boards. Our main course was a meat pie using venison from the Lyme Park herd.

Pride and Prejudice (BBC, 1995) fans should remember a few of the views in these photos.

Elizabeth's first view of "Pemberley".
Her view from the carriage isn't actually possible as the estate is surrounded by gardens and there's no road from this angle... oh well - it's all in the magic of movie-making.

Elizabeth and Darcy bump into each other on the lawn, he darts inside to get changed, then runs down these stairs to catch Lizzy and her aunt and uncle before they leave.

The long pathway where Elizabeth and Darcy stroll with her aunt and uncle.

We took a walk through the rhododendron garden which contained a wide variety of plants, most of which were in full bloom.

After we finished touring through the house and exploring the grounds we took a walk out to view the exterior of the hunting lodge. Quite the place! I think it was essentially a giant boys' fort for the men to get away from the women as it wasn't very far from the main house.