Tea at Chatsworth Estate #tea #teatime #england #travel #afternoon

Mum's Visit: Chesterfield

Our last and final day together was spent in Chesterfield, going to see Chatsworth House which is also the house of Mr. Darcy’ (“Pemberly”) in the 2005 adaption of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. It was a bittersweet day, as mum and Kelly were leaving the following morning. However, we enjoyed our time at Pemberly. It was decorated for Christmas, or shall I say a pantomime Christmas. It was so odd, I had no idea what was going on at first- ha! Although the house was decorated, it was still cool to see it in such a festive season. There was also a Christmas Market going on outside in the garden areas which we had no idea was going on, so there were Christmas carols being played, lots of people bustling around, food and tons of gifts and shopping to be done. 

We toured the house first and then went to the stables where we had made reservations for afternoon tea in the Chatsworth Restaurant. Tea was good, the food tasted delicious, and it was nice to be able to sit and relax after days of running around. Afterwards, just in time to watch the sunset, we head out to the gardens and got to see the beautiful house glow in the warm setting sunlight. We walked around the gardens for a bit before it got pitch black and we had to manage our way back to the main house to catch a taxi to our hotel.

It was our last night together in England, which was sad, however I thoroughly enjoyed all our time together, and I feel so blessed and fortunate enough to have family who would stop their lives for a week and come and visit me :) I loved every moment and miss them terribly already! 

You Have Bewitched Me, Body & Soul & I Love Thee

One of the things I was looking forward to most while I was in England was exploring the areas that Jane Austen wrote so romantically about in all her novels. I am absolute hopeless romantic and I can’t believe I’m in the places she wrote about so many years ago. Bella, thank goodness, is just about as obsessed as I am so when the idea was brought up to visit “Pemberly” a.k.a Mr. Darcy’s House this past week, we both jumped on the idea. So on Thursday morning we woke up before the sunrise and caught a train to Chesterfield! It was another episode of Trains, Planes and Automobiles to actually arrive at Chatsworth House “Pemberly”, as online it made it sound so easy to navigate but in reality it was way out in the Peak District and it once we arrived at the train station we learned it was still like 15-20 miles away. However, once we got there it was absolutely breathtaking and totally worth the pain to get out there!

I can’t even explain how beautiful the house was; it was incredibly breathtaking and absolutely surreal that I was actually there. The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire have always, and currently do still reside at the Chatsworth House, so the house had been kept and restored to a historically accurate perception of the era. The carving work, the cathedral ceilings, the frescos and murals were beautiful. One of my favorite parts of the house was the grande dining room which was a deep burgundy color with fresh, crisp white accents and some of the most dazzling chandeliers I’ve ever seen.

Then we explored the gardens which went on for acres and acres. Statues and artwork dotted the landscape amongst the lakes and waterfalls along with quaint hide-away spots high up in the trees. Between the distant smell of burning wood, the vibrant colors of autumn leaves, and the brisk breeze- I truly felt like autumn had arrived; and there I was, smack dab in the middle of Pemberly to experience it :)