Monday: Happy ever after

Monday was traditional English weather: drizzle interspersed with periods of rain. So our planned walk around the town was cancelled, and after another cooked breakfast (with derbyshire oatcakes and local organic produce) we set off for Lyme Hall, which I wasn't going to miss no matter what the weather.

The estate for Lyme Hall was beautiful and vast. Adam made me the happiest girl in the world, by not only agreeing to the full house and garden tour, but buying us National Trust memberships. So now we can visit more than 300 historic sites for free! The house is beautifully situated. The house decor was like a fabric and furniture museum, with lots of original tapestries and velvet bed canopies, and a room dedicated to the various clocks the family had collected over the centuries. I couldn't resist quoting a bit of Jane Austen, even though I don't think the inside was used in Pride & Prejudice.

The gardens were fantastic. There was a separate huge stone and glass greenhouse with tropical plants. And the rain held out long enough for a walk around the lake so I could get photos. The outside layout is different from 'Pemberley' - the lake is at the back, and there is no carriage access out there. But the stairs and the lake were the same. Sigh. But I couldn't find the Darcy lake.

The drive back also gave us a taste of the Cotswolds, which are very close to Oxford so we will hopefully be able to go up for day trips after the move. The leaves are already starting to turn, and there are still three weeks of summer left.