A British Day

I woke up this morning with the sun shining into my attic room window, and I couldn't resist going for a little walk in the adorable village we called home for the night.  I had one true mission: to find some lambs.  We had seen many a lambs on our journey yesterday, but they were always in fields where I couldn't pull over or roads were just too busy.  My mission was unsuccessful, however, I thoroughly enjoyed the village, and the ducks and rabbits I did find along the way.

We went into breakfast in the pub where we were staying and were seated at a bench.  This pub was rather typical of a British pub: a very cozy feel, no expenses spent in any real decor.  We were seated on a bench that looked like it had seen its better days with tattered holes worn in the fabric, but breakfast was delicious, as always.

As we were leaving, I asked one of our friendly hosts directions to a nearby stone circle.  He sort of laughed and when I said, "Is it worth visiting?"  He responded with, "Well, it is one of the most famous in the world.  J.R.R. Tolkien even referred to it in The Lord of the Rings."  He had my attention.  I had no idea Tolkien knew the area.  When I enquired more, he said, "Oh, yeah!  In fact, Tolkien sat right there on the bench where you ate breakfast talking with his brother."  I didn't believe him, as he seemed to be someone who would probably enjoy a good story, but the others backed up his story as did the Tolkien memorabilia in the pub that I had not previously noticed.

So, within the last week I have sat in the same places as J.K Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien; be looking for my book sometime soon as surely I have been inspired!

The stone circle, as all stone circles, was pretty impressive, but once you have seen Stonehenge and heard the legends and mysteries behind it, all others simply dwarf in comparison.

Rollright Stones

We continued our drive through the countryside, navigating as we went, avoiding major roads and cities.  Stephanie, thankfully found a narrow country road headed in the right direction that took us by a field of lambs that were close to the road.  I immediately pulled over (in a safe spot) and Stephanie and I battled the gale force winds to snap-away.  New-born lambs cuddling with their mothers in fields of green with blue skies behind them - it couldn't have been more perfect.  My mission was successful!

And those are just a few of the hundred plus photos I took in a matter of a few minutes.

Our next stop was Woburn Abbey, a beautiful estate in the neighboring village where the Duke of Bedford lives.  My parents and I had visited the deer park and gardens when they visited back in January, but the home is not open in the winter months, so I had not yet toured the home.  I've been living in England for eight months now and have toured my fair share of beautiful, stately homes, but this one may top the list.  The home is still where the Duke and his family live, but they live in just a part of the home, and as the home is so very large, we were able to see a huge amount of it.  The home is richly decorated and steeped in history and tradition.  

My favorite rooms were the state rooms in the front of the house with gorgeous views that overlooked the lake and much of the deer park.  It was in these rooms that Queen Victoria stayed on her visit to the Abbey back in the mid-1800s.  She enjoyed her stay so much that she and Prince Albert drew some sketches of things they had seen at the Abbey as a gift to the Duchess and these sketchings are now framed in this very bedroom.  I also learned this past week that the "Drawing Room" as I've heard described in many a classic stories was not actually for drawing, although that was a common past time, it was for "withdrawing."  

After seeing several stunning bedrooms, a grand staircase, beautiful drawing rooms, two perfectly set dining rooms, a long gallery and a library, our tour led us to the basement where I expected to see a kitchen and then quickly be escorted out.  Instead, we were suddenly standing in the treasury of the home.  First came case after case of gorgeous pieces of china, and even an entire dining table set just to show off the pieces, then came the silver vault followed by the gold vault.  These "vaults" had huge, vault-like doors but were the size of my classroom, lined with cases of shiny relics.  In the gold vault, there was also an original Rembrandt!  Obviously, a gold vault would be the only place to store this.  (In case anyone is wondering, the current Duke of Bedford is worth over three quarters of a million dollars.)

One other thing that I knew Stephanie would love (and Mack would put up with) was afternoon tea.  The Duchess of Woburn Abbey, Anna Maria, was a Lady in Waiting to Queen Victoria when she had a brilliant idea.  At that time, dinner was served quite late in the evenings and often only a very light lunch was served.  She wanted a way to combat "that sinking feeling" and thus the idea of afternoon tea was born.  Afternoon tea consists of three layers of food: the first layer of finger sandwiches is followed by a layer of scones with clotted cream and jam then a layer of delectable desserts.  It was fantastic and certainly took away any of our sinking feelings!

So, this British day consisted of being in the presence of a literary great, walking in a stone circle, seeing lambs, touring a stately home, sipping tea, enjoying afternoon tea and finishing up with a beef and ale pie at the local pub!  Truly British!