Chatsworth House

You know that breathtaking sequence in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightley one), where Elizabeth Bennett and her aunt and uncle go to see Pemberley, Mr. Darcy's estate?  You know, it immediately follows the picturesque, if a little fantastical landscape, twilight scene with Keira Knightley on the cliff?  The house with the beautiful frescos, classical statues, and awe-inspiring architecture?  

Well, all of that was filmed inside the estate and on the grounds of Chatsworth House in the Peak District of England.  And yesterday, I had the privilege of seeing it all.  

Chatsworth is another one of those sights that words can do no justice.  With sheep running around the enormous, rolling grounds, the whole property has a very wild, country feel.  Recently decorated in a Russian Christmas theme, the house itself feels magical.  It truly is something out of a Jane Austen novel.  In fact, the Chatsworth is mentioned in Pride and Prejudice as somewhere Elizabeth Bennett visits on her trip with her aunt and uncle, but it was not the home of the fictional Mr. Darcy.  

Getting to Chatsworth was half the fun.  I rolled groggily out of bed at 6:30 am to make sure I didn't miss my 8:30 train from London St. Pancras to Chesterfield.  Chatsworth's website indicated that there is a "good bus service" from Chesterfield.  Well, when I alighted from the train and looked for the bus station, it was nowhere to be found.  Thankfully, the woman that I asked to help me was an incredibly kind expatriate.  She must have walked about 30 minutes out of her way to find the bus schedule, make sure I found the bus stop, and got on the right one.  

The most exciting part of the day was finding Chatsworth from the bus stop in Baslow (a 30 minute ride from Chesterfield).  The nice English couple who I asked directed me "down the street, over the bridge, and right at the thatched cottages."  Of course, the English countryside has no street signs.  But whoever said that the English are cold, rude, or otherwise unfriendly is dead wrong.  No less than five English people directed me throughout the day, all of whom were exceptionally kind.

From the thatched cottages, I walked about 25 minutes through the grounds of Chatsworth to reach the house.  The walk, so quintessentially English countryside-esque, was just as awe-inspiring as viewing the house.  And instead of cramped with totally obnoxious tourists, the grounds of Chatsworth seemed to be a normal part of the daily lives of the local residents.  Many people seemed to be there not for the sake of viewing the house, but merely for their daily outdoor romp with the dog.

Chatsworth is one trip that I simply could never hope to convey the full effect of in a blog post.  You all will just have to go see it yourself one day.  It's worth the trip!  But, as they say, pictures are worth a thousand words.  And on a sunny day like yesterday, at Chatsworth, you would be hard-pressed to take a bad picture.