This is Chatsworth House, usually attributed as the inspiration for Mr. Darcy's Pemberley. The latest version of Pride and Prejudice was filmed here.
We've seen our share of grand houses, but this was the grandaddy of them all. It was massive, run with Disneyland-like attention to detail, with tons to see and do. There was the house, gardens, restaurants, and a farmyard area and playground for kids. We were here on a Saturday, and by 2 pm there was a sea of parked cars and an army of people milling around the place. It was so popular with the people! Mr. Darcy would have been appalled.
First, we explored the gardens.
Then we ate lunch and decided to have a look inside the house. We made it through the impressive main entrance before all hell broke loose. Penny refused to be held. When we picked her up, she screamed and cried. Meanwhile, as per usual, Esmé tried to sit on antique 16th century furniture and pull the drapes. We were scurrying about trying to contain them until it got to be too much. Roo, exasperated, decided to take them out after seeing only a few rooms. "You stay and finish the tour. I'll take them outside to play," he told me.
This sounded like a great plan to me. Esmé did not agree. Roo left with the kids, and a few moments later, I (and all the hundreds of other people in the house) heard echoing through the place, "MOMMY, MOMMY! WHERE IS MOMMY?!" I thought about chasing Roo and the kids down to calm Esmé. Then an old man next to me shook his head and muttered, "Oh dear!" about the ruckus, so I pretended to have no connection whatsoever to it and continued on my way.
I took a speed tour through the rooms, snapping a few pictures along the way.
I caught up with my gallant husband and wiggly kids in the statue room.
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| Not impressed by the antiquities. |
From the house, we went straight to the ice cream stand. We sat on the lawn, eating ice cream and listening to a live string quartet and recovering from the trauma of the house. It was lovely. After that we pet a goat and some pigs then headed home. The girls fell asleep in the car, and in order to maintain the peace and keep them sleeping, we just kept driving and driving all through Derbyshire. Down tiny lanes, past stone fences, and endless green hills.
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| Happy Penny with a runny nose. |
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| Commoners lounging on the lawn. Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted? |
6 comments:
Roo is a good sport! He deserves extra husband and father points! It is hard to believe that real people actually lived in places like this and that places like this aren't just movie sets.
(Elizabeth would be charmed by your adorable girls running about the place.)
If Jordan and I go back to England, this is where I want to visit!
Oh Annie, you crack us up! At least the shades of Pemberley weren't removed by Esme. Way to go Roo to take one for the team. What a COOL place to see. We are so lame that we didn't get here fast enough! Maybe you could write up a book on all the best places to see and how to get to them. What awesome pictures.
That paragraph in which you pretend to not know the child shouting mommy is hilarious. You are a funny lady.
Now that I know we will probably never visit England your intrepid sight-seeing pictures are a window into a time I enjoy so much in books. Wish I could have been a mouse in your pocket though.
You are KILLING ME.
(in a good way, good killing, happy killing)
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