Stonehenge / Stanage Edge / Chatsworth House
After spending about 48 hours in London we hopped a train that took us out to Stonehenge. I have to admit that I've always been a bit intrigued by this place - how was it made, why was it made, etc. so it was pretty neat to see it in person.
While we were waiting for our train to take us to Derby, we stopped in and ate at this cute little pub. I'm sure that it is just gorgeous in the Spring when everything is in bloom.
In Derby, we picked up a rental car and head out towards the Peak District. Since I was the only one who could drive a stick shift & who had experience with driving on the wrong side of the road - I was the designated driver. It had been 5 years since I'd driven over there but it was kind of like riding a bike - it came right back. Thank God!
The next big stop was at Stanage Edge which was beautiful! One of the girls had seen it in the new Pride & Prejudice movie and wanted to check it out.
It was about a 2 mile hike to get to the top of the edge but it was well worth it. The views were amazing and we decided to take advantage of it with a little photo shoot. The wind was blowing really hard so I crawled out to the edge of the cliff.
The photo below will give you a little better idea as to why I was crawling to the edge of the rock! Since the cliffs are so high and steep, there were a ton of rock climbers out. It was neat to see them but I couldn't help but think they were crazy!
Here is a photo looking away from the cliffs on top of the edge:
On the hike down we passed a herd of sheep that were grazing. I guess they are used to people because they weren't startled at all when they girls started "talking" to them.
After that we jumped in the car and headed over to the Chatsworth House. This estate was just beautiful and it was also used in the move Pride & Prejudice.
Here is just one of the photos that I took inside the house - this is The Painted Hall.
The gardens surrounding the house were just beautiful. I've always been a big fan of fountains and anything that includes water so I found this fact fascinating - this is the oldest water fountain in the UK and it's entirely gravity fed. Crazy, huh?! 
They also had a garden maze which is always fun. The last time I did one was at Hever Castle 5 years ago and that was child's play compared to the one at Chatsworth! It took nearly 45 minutes to find the center and I was the only one to find it! The middle was a bit anticlimactic; there was just a tree and a bench. I didn't even have time to enjoy it because we had to leave right away to get back to the train station to head up to Scotland.
5 comments:
Well, this is a good way to start a Monday. The sun is out and who should appear, but Electric Blonde, Female, from Orange County. EB will have to do.
Google has the goodness to let me know when 'Stonehenge.co.uk' is mentioned on the web. It's my own site and not the official one, but if people think I own it, who am I to disappoint them. They write to me from all over the world with questions about Stonehenge (My favourite to date is 'When is the best time to see the sunrise at Stonehenge?' Replies are never rude, but one can be tempted.)
The purpose of my writing is to let you know about the Solstice celebration, on June 21st. 20,000 people having a great time and, I am sure, fulfilling the purpose of Stonehenge; drawing a crowd and affecting everyone there. For life. Astonishing.
So, EB have a look at the pics on http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/
Solstice2005photos1.htm (page 25 shows my daughter and me) and 2006 and get booked to leave OC again in June.
Better make it longer than 10 days, as Cornwall and Devon, my roots, should not be missed. Take a look through www.windowonbritain.co.uk/
cornwall.htm or the 'window' link on 'stonehenge.co.uk' which will also take you there.
Thanks for reading this and I hope your friends will be inspired by your pics to visit 'Old Blighty' and, of course, my website, which needs all the hits it can get. Facelift coming up for it shortly, with,I hope, the blog of how it was built. (Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.)
Lots of love, Alan x
PS Please forgive me if this appears twice, as it didn't appear the first time.
Wow! Looks amazing! I can't wait to hear more. I must go to Europe!
Love the photos. I'll bet Stonehenge just gives you goosebumps when you see it in person, doesn't it?
wow! wow! wow!
Hey Alan - Thanks for the heads up on Solstice, it sounds amazing! Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be going back to the UK for awhile - though I will certainly have to check out Cornwall/Devon the next time I'm there - 10 days just wasn't enough!
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