‎"Every object in the next day's journey was new and interesting...and the prospect of her northern tour was a constant source of delight."

I went to visit my flatmate's family in Sheffield last week, and we took some time away from the stress of revision to go estate touring.  One of the sites, Lyme Park, has been on my to-do list for months--it was used as Pemberley (Mr. Darcy's estate) in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, which happens to be my favorite film version of my favorite Austen novel.  Here's a clip from the series, showing the house.  If you don't care about seeing Colin Firth in a lake, skip to about 1.21:



Even though the weather wasn't spectacular, I was thrilled.  Recognize the view?

and with my flatmates:

The grounds were lovely.  Most of the flowers were in bloom, so even though the weather wasn't very nice there were still lots of colors and things to see.

Lyme Park, the estate, was actually originally a tudor residence and was once of the homes in which Mary, Queen of Scots was kept during her imprisonment in England.  The interiors were not as extravagant as the other estate we visited, Chatsworth (post upcoming), but the library was absolutely gorgeous and there were several interesting pieces throughout.  One of my favorites was a portrait in the main entrance room, which could be moved away from the wall to allow a view of visitors from the ladies' parlor.  According to the volunteer guide, the lady of the house could spy on guests and then signal to the butler whether or not she was available to accept them.  I could use a system like that sometimes...oh, wait-that's what caller ID is for.

a side view from the gardens

fountain in the orangery, I found the moss very striking

at the main entrance through the checkered court-another area shot for P&P

Another was the 'ghost room', which was never used for guests after a skeleton was found buried under the floor boards.  According to legend, there is also a secret tunnel from the 'priests' hole' in the closet to an eighteenth century outer hunting tower on the grounds.

my flatmates in one of the little grottoes on the grounds

the formal garden from above

It was definitely worth the trip, and satisfied my ongoing obsession with 19th century British literature locations (at least temporarily).  It was also a nice break from all the exam stress, and I cam back feeling refreshed.  Unfortunately, that has been killed by my second exam and revision for the third. sigh.

panorama composite of the view from across the lake