Hill Top, Home of Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter learned to love the Lake District after spending a summer at Wray Castle as a child and bought Hill Top as an adult in 1905. It’s a beautiful 17th-century farmhouse kept in the exact condition she left it.
Blenheim Palace
I first visited with my husband in 2011 while planning a visit to Oxford, because I learned that it was the birthplace of famed Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. Located just 10 miles outside of Oxford the palace and grounds are well worth a visit while you’re visiting “the city of dreaming spires.”
A Book of Poetry for Lent
The poems themselves are beautiful and leave me with at least one line I find particularly meaningful. In addition to each day’s poetry, Guite writes about each poem, explaining why he included it in a collection focused on Christ’s 40 days in the wilderness and the Christian’s life seen as pilgrimage.
Five Places from A Tale of Two Cities
Since places are always enhanced by stories, here are five places that have a starring role in A Tale of Two Cities.
Books to Welcome Spring
The metaphorical calendar page is about to turn over to March, and the signs of early spring are visible in France: the first daffodils are up, the Japanese cherry blossoms have opened on their spindly branches, and the sun has been shining almost all week. It really lifts the spirits after the grey and rainy winter, and I started thinking about books that remind me of spring.
Baggins Book Bazaar
If you’re visiting London and want to experience a little English life outside the big city, Rochester is less than an hour away by train and would make a really fun day trip with its charming shops, eateries, cathedral, castle, and most importantly: the largest second-hand bookshop in England.
Rochester, a city for the Dickens enthusiast
Charles Dickens lived just outside of Rochester in Chatham as a child and returned to the area as an established author in 1856. Many of his books reference buildings in Rochester, and you’ll find plaques all around the High Street explaining their Dickens connection.
Grasmere Gingerbread
It’s texture was not quite a biscuit (in the British sense of the word) and not quite cake; it was somewhere in the middle and just right.
Dove Cottage, Home of William Wordsworth
Visiting Dove Cottage taught me more about the poet’s life, how he lived here with his sister, Dorothy, for nearly three years before marrying Mary Hutchinson. The setting is stunning, the perfect place for a life of walking and writing.
Glenfinnan Viaduct
Long before an 11-year-old boy living in the cupboard under the stairs ever got a letter of invitation to attend a magical school in this storied region, Glenfinnan was best remembered as the spot Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his royal standard to claim the British throne for the Stuarts.
Lacock Abbey
The cloisters have made appearances in many films and productions, including the first two Harry Potter films where they became the halls of Hogwarts.
Barter Books
Barter Books is one of the largest second-hand bookshops in Europe and is well worth a spot on your itinerary.
Alnwick Castle
Today it’s recognizable as a stand-in for Hogwarts in the first two Harry Potter films, as well as featuring in two episodes of Downton Abbey.
Books in Snowy Climes
If you’re like me and can only experience a snowy climate through the pages of a good book, I thought I’d share some books I read in the last few years that really immersed me in the snowy weather.
A Novel Pairing: A 20th Century WWII Story & 19th Century Science Fiction Adventure
Marie-Laure’s enjoyment and immersion in the fantastical underwater world created by Jules Verne permeates Doerr’s book, and diving into it directly after All the Light We Cannot See has been a good choice for me.
An Eiffel Tower Snow Day
When I look up and see the Eiffel Tower, one of the most iconic landmarks in the world, I say inwardly every time, "I'm in Paris."
Saint-Malo
People have lived in Saint Malo since the 1st century B.C., giving it an extremely storied history of monasteries, pirates, and explorers. Whatever story brings you to this port city, there’s much to discover.
Jardin des Plantes
Some might say this is the most magical time of year to visit Paris: they would probably be right. I’ve never seen such exquisite and perfectly formed cherry blossoms as I have in the Jardins des Plantes.
Favorite Yorkshire Books
When I think about books set in Yorkshire, there are a few that stand out as really evoking the essence of the county and who have been around long enough to find a place in the cultural lore.
Chatsworth House
You can spend a full day discovering the delights of Pemberley, just as Elizabeth and her Uncle and Aunt Gardiner did.