To England, to England

The first weekend in August, the boys and I took a train down to Peterborough to visit their grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. C.

On the train. First Class!
That was fun until the train broke down in York, and we had to get on another one.
We weren't in first class then, mostly because I didn't have the presence of mind to actually see if  there were seats available there.
I was more concerned with getting the boys and all their luggage onto the train in the first place.

Mr. and Mrs. C met us at the train station in Peterborough.

We took the scenic route back to their house in a lovely little village called Barnwell.

Watching the passing landscape from the train, I wasn't inclined to think much of England.

It was just flat, compared to Scotland.

However, actually driving through towns and villages, a different aspect of England was revealed.

We passed buildings with thatched roofs, others that were built in the time of Shakespeare, and drove over bridges possibly dating from even before then.
I realized that it was charming.

This is their church.
It's not in Barnwell; I can't remember the name of the village.
The towery part was built by the Normans, and the Victorians added onto it later.

Tom in front of a Norman door with Elly, a highly irritating, yappy
little pooch that his grandparents were dog-sitting.
The carvings are of some saint being attacked/eaten by wolves, if I remember correctly.

James in front of the "Narnia lamp-post," with Albert, Elly's equally annoying counterpart.

On Monday, Mr. and Mrs. C took us to Chatsworth, the seat of the
Dukes and Duchesses of Devonshire.
Set in the Peaks District, the estate itself was breath-taking.
Rolling hills covered with trees surrounded it.

Inside the former stable yard.

The elephant got Tom!

This floor is so cool.
It's a work of art in itself.

The carriage that is used for ceremonial purposes.
(Also, Pride & Prejudice fans, do you recognize this floor?)

I found the empty harness just a little bit creepy.

Ceremonial robes worn by the Cavendish family.
That is, by the Duke and Duchess and their children.

The chapel.
The statue at the end is of a man holding his own skin with all his muscles and sinews visible.

A giant foot.
Tom's foot was about the size of the pinky toe.
Mine was almost the size of the next one, and James was somewhere in between.

A copy of "Hercules' Shield."

A child's sleigh.

Tulip vases.

Ridiculous side board with a wine cooler in front of it.

The gardens, full of eccentric sculptures...

In the music room.
See that violin hanging on the door?
It's a painting.
In fact, the whole door is.
The only thing that isn't painted is the knob that the violin "hangs" on.

Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire.
Perhaps the most notorious of the duchesses.
The film The Duchess with Keira Knightley is about her.

Monaco won this, Josie!
Who'da thunkit, eh?

Gun collection

Sword/knife collection

This is carved out of wood.
Mind-blowing!

A case full of tiny little gold ornaments.

My favourite bedroom.
The wallpaper was hand painted in China.
I almost bought a notebook with that pattern on the cover, it's so pretty.

The Library!

This is amazing!
It looks like her veil is cloth, but it's actually carved out of marble.

Dining room
Imagine having Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner around a table like this!

The Marble Hall

Greyhounds.

This sleepy fellow was on one side of the door on your way out.

And THIS was on the other side.
He's life-size too.
People tended to eye him warily on their way out.

I took the boys to the farmyard after touring the house, and Granny and Grandad went to the farm shop to buy sausages and bacon and things like that.

There were goats and piglets and horses and chicks and cows and sheep, but the boys were more interested in getting to the playground as quickly as they could.

And I have to admit, it was a pretty epic playground.

The farmyard, now a children's petting zoo.
There were two pregnant donkeys there, and one of them started going into labour when we were there.

The awesomest playground ever.

Mr. and Mrs. C found us and took us to see the gardens quickly before we left.

More weird and wonderful sculpture...

That's not the house.
That's just some small building in the garden.

We came to the ornamental waterfall, and the boys immediately
took off their socks and shoes and ran up and down in it.
It didn't take long before I joined them...
Needless to say, we didn't actually see the rest of the gardens.
Oops!

The House.
(Part of it.)

The boys racing up the waterfall.

James... looking cool.

Mrs. C, aka Granny :)

Mr. C, Bearer of Ice-creams!

:D

Me and my boys <3
You may want sunglasses to view this picture for longer than three seconds.
James is just sooo cool, and Tom is a little bit sulky because he slipped and got his shorts and t-shirt wet.

The "patio"

The stables

*Note: the Pride and Prejudice references refer to the 2005 

version with Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen.

Chatsworth was used as Pemberley for some of the scenes.

For example, the black and white floor near the entrance and the marble room are both featured.

According to Wikipedia, the outside was also used, but I didn't recognize it.

(I think I must watch it again. For research, you know.)