Chatsworth House + Gardens

Chatsworth was one of the places I wanted to see most in England and it was one of the very last places we went. You need a whole day to devote to this gigantic mansion and we never managed to have the time to drive the three hours there and back. So, naturally, we decided to stop by on our way to Scotland (ps posts on Scotland coming soon).

I wanted to see this place so badly, I even watched a three-part documentary on the house. It was great and very informative, but seeing it in person was even better. The grounds are 35,000 acres and the gardens are spectacular. They even have a maze (!).

This is Forrest doing his Mr. Darcy impression. Because, you know, Pemberley.

Only about 26 of the 126 rooms are open to the public, but they're pretty good rooms. Also, the doorways are really tall.

We saw the Duke of Devonshire (who lives at Chatsworth) in the library. He's the blue blob at the back of the room. 

These are some silver miniatures that I thought we so cute! The chandelier is about three inches tall if I remember correctly.

I thought this house was so dreamy. If I could pick a little English cottage, this would be the one.

I am really starting to miss England. I knew I would, but I didn't think I would miss it quite so much so soon. I suppose part of the longing is for all the adventures we had across Europe while we've had a few very quiet months since we've arrived in Washington. A few quiet months means that I've gotten a lot of reading and knitting done and Forrest has had some time to try and recover from his ridiculous headaches, but I think both of us are lusting after more time on the open road. We traveled at least once every two months while in the UK and it seems like something should be coming up on our calendar.

I suppose all I can do for now is sort through more photos and remember all of the amazing moments we've had. There's not a day that goes by when I'm asking Forrest remember when we went there and did this? that was fun! let's go there again someday soon. It's wonderful, but I got used to living in places with so much history and now here I am living in a house from the 1920's that seems ancient to most Americans. It's an adjustment.

There's a different kind of beauty in the US. It's not the beauty of old buildings and even older families. It's the fact that I can look out my window and see Mt. Rainier any old day. We have the magnificent beauty of nature that hasn't been touched and touristed (?) to oblivion. I can get away from people in this state. I've said it before, but with the population of the UK, we just couldn't get away from anyone. There was always someone around even in the most remote place. On our road trip across the states, we practically had an entire National Park to ourselves. That is what I love about this country.

That said, it's still an adjustment.

I miss you, old houses (especially you, Chatsworth)!