The trip

I left for England on July 9 at 8:10am on a British Airways flight direct from Dulles to London.  What followed was a crazy, lovely, month-long journey through Austen's England.  Here's how it broke down:

• Oxford:  July 9 - 16 I started my trip with a week in Oxford, which has strong Austen connections.  (Among other things, Jane's father George and two of her brothers went to school at St. John's College.)  In addition to the Austen research, I attended a week-long class in theology and apologetics at Wycliffe Hall.
• Hampshire:  July 16 - 21 For the next five days, I was in the middle of the Hampshire countryside, where Jane grew up and where she lived later in her life when she was writing and publishing.  I stayed at Alton Abbey, a working monastery of the Anglican church, and visited Steventon (including St. Nicholas Church where her father was rector for so many years) and Chawton, where she and her mother and sister lived on her brother Edward's estate.
• London:  July 21 - 25 After Hampshire I moved on to stay with a dear friend outside of London for a few days.  I did day trips to Box Hill, and London (Jane's writing desk and a manuscript chapter of Persuasion are on display at the British Library, and the only drawing of Jane, the pencil drawing her sister Cassandra did, is at the National Portrait Gallery.)  I also did a rather adventurous trip to Canterbury and Godmersham, which was her brother Edward's other estate.
• Winchester:  July 25 On my way from London to Lyme, I stopped through Winchester to see Winchester Cathedral where Jane is buried and the house where she and Cassandra stayed during her illness.
• Lyme Regis:  July 25 - 27 I spent two gray days in Lyme where I stayed at an old (smelly!) hotel, walked the Cobb, and, of course, saw the "Granny's Teeth" steps from Persuasion.
• Bath:  July 27 - 31 From Lyme I was on to lovely Bath for four days. I visited the Jane Austen Centre and did their walking tour of the city, saw the Roman Baths, found a favorite tea shop on a quiet side street, and climbed Beechen Cliff like Catherine in Northanger Abbey.  I stayed at a great little B&B -- the Villa Magdala.
• Derbyshire:  July 31 - August 4 Derbyshire, in the Peak District, is the setting for Darcy's house, Pemberley, in Pride & Prejudice.  It's gorgeous countryside (though I failed to see any real peaks in the Peak District...).  I stayed with Jo and Rod Spensley at The Devonshire Arms, their great little pub in Pilsley for two nights, and then at a youth hostel in Youlgreave.  I visited Lyme Park, which was Pemberley in the BBC version of P&P, and then Chatsworth, which they say may have been a model for Pemberley, and was used in the new version of the movie with Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFayden.
• Stoneleigh:  August 4 On my way back to London and back home, I made one final stop at Stoneleigh Abbey, Jane's mother's family's estate.

I spent one final day in Oxford, which I'd come to love, and flew home exhausted on August 6.

Many thanks to the team at The Republic of Pemberley.  This trip would have been nearly impossible to plan without all the detailed information and links on the Pemberley site.

Comments

[Kristine]

Hooray -- I'm so glad you're doing this! Can't wait to read it all!!

[suzanna]

Lori -- This is terrific! What an excellent idea. I look forward to hearing more.

[Kathryn Ross]

Thank you, Lori! Just finished "A Walk with Jane Austen" this afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed travelling with you through Jane's landscape - and the kindred landscapes of your heart. Hopeless romantic that I am, I joyed in knowing that some of my innermost thoughts are shared with others. I appreciate your transparent honesty and willingness to commit to paper what we so often hold fast in the private parlors of our hearts. Have enjoyed, too, reviewing your blogs and reviews on the site here. THANK YOU for setting things straight about the "Becoming Jane" film and the misinformation it presents about the life of a woman far more deserving than 21st century sensationalism and morals. When I plan my trip to England I shall definitely review your journey and hope to walk in those same places, pondering . . .
I shall be doing so, with my husband. He will not completely understand - but he'll love the landscape - and our visits to local pubs dripping in atmosphere. I think your comment about the void of quaint villages and family pub life - and tea shops - in America, and the over indulgence of strip malls and flagrant commercial retail was dead on. I've been watching my sweet little hometown spiral downward into a retail hell with no appreciation of its history. It seems to be happening everywhere. Thankfully, things stay pretty much the same in certain pockets of the English countryside (Ireland & Scotland) and in a Jane Austen novel - and that's a comfort. As a speaker and storyteller, I put together a Jane Austen program for ladies' groups wherein we do much sighing about all things feminine and Jane, drink plenty of tea, and discuss the latest books out about Jane. I do so in Regency era attire I thoroughly enjoyed sewing, but have lost three dress sizes since last year and might have to make another one! I shall add your little tome to my fray of suggested reading and feature it in our book fairs. What a terrific YA read to encourage at the high school level, leaving so many Marianne's with the wise and reasoned thoughts of Elinor - and an easy to grasp presentation of the choice of Christian living. Visit me at www.pwpstorytellers.com and www.pageantwagonbooks.com - both still decidedly under construction but informational, nonetheless. May you take continued joy in your calling and in celebration of all things, bright, beautiful, and ordinary. Glory!