Pemberley

Chatsworth House
Derbyshire, England

It took all day to drive from Perthshire back to London, but to break up the drive we stopped in the Peak District, at Chatsworth House. This is one of those grand British houses leftover from another time. The house is still owned by the 12th Duke of Devonshire, a peer of the realm. This is the kind of house in which girls dreaming of being Mrs. Darcy want to live. It’s fitting then that the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie used Chatsworth at the set for Pemberley—Mr. Darcy’s home. There is also rumor that Jane Austen modeled Pemberley on Chatsworth when she was writing Pride and Prejudice.

The library at Chatsworth House
Derbyshire, England

I’ve seen the 2005 movie a lot, so I knew the house would be big, but standing before it, I was still amazed at its size. I couldn’t believe that it all belonged to one family—and I’ve been to several castles and palaces. Maybe that’s the problem; this building was palatial, but it was referred to as a house. At least with all the servants and generations living there, it can’t be called a single family home.

Bust of Matthew Macfayden as Mr. Darcy
Chatsworth House
Derbyshire, England

We were walking through my imagination; wandering the house, grounds, and gardens. It was a welcome break from the car. I particularly enjoyed seeing vistas from the movie, and there was a prop—a bust of Matthew Macfayden as Mr. Darcy—in the gift shop. The staff around the property was all very friendly and helpful; they were well educated on their surroundings and they could answer questions or participate in discussions about the artifacts or their owners with ease. Furthermore, the Peak district is a beautiful area and driving through it was a pleasure.

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Chatsworth House Visitor Information

Pride and Prejudice at Chatsworth House

Magical Mysteries

The Albert Docks
Liverpool, England

We left Birmingham early and drove to Liverpool to kick off our second day of travel. There were many things to do in this city but we were there to take The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour and to see the docks where my grandfather landed during WWII. The docks have changed a lot in 70 years, but it was still fun knowing we were walking in his footsteps.

I want it.
Penny Lane, Liverpool, England

The Magical Mystery Tour was crazy but it was a lot of fun. We boarded a very loud colored bus and drove around the city checking out sites that were tied to the Beatles; we couldn’t look more like tourists, not even if we wore visors and fanny packs. We saw their childhood homes, Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, and the Cavern Club; our tour guide was even in one of the documentary films about them. When we visited Penny Lane Neil told us the sign was stolen so much when the song was new, the city decided to paint the street name on the wall instead; then people stole chunks of the bricks. Recently, the city decided enough time had passed, and they could put a sign back up; the signs now last an average of 3 days. I definitely wanted to return after dark with a wrench.

The Cavern Club is an underground music club that opened in the 1950s and the Beatles began frequenting in the 1960s. Over the years the club hosted many famous bands, and these are commemorated outside on the wall of fame; it truly is a piece of music history. Across the street is the Cavern Pub, a similarly decorated, underground pub serving normal bar food. When our tour ended we walked to the Cavern Pub for some lunch. The walls were covered with memorabilia from and photographs of dozens of artists. After lunch we briefly returned to street level before descending again into the Cavern Club.

The Cavern Club
Liverpool, England

Interior of the Cavern Club, with a Beatles Cover Band Playing
Liverpool, England

Other artists play at the club, but more often than not, there is a Beatles cover band playing, even at 3pm on a Thursday. My Dad was super excited to be there and was singing along with the band, oblivious to everything else. The group was two guys with guitars, and we kept trying to convince my Dad to drum for them. He refused, even after we bought him official Cavern Club commemorative drumsticks. We stayed down there, taking it all in, until they finished their set.

Approaching Malham Cove on the Pennine Trail
Malham Village, England

Emerging from the club we were greeted with sunshine. The storm from earlier had cleared and the weather was perfect for our next adventure: hiking to Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Malham Cove is about 2 hours northeast of Liverpool and was the site of Harry Potter filming. The cover is a portion of land where a small creek has, over time, created a sheer cliff face; it’s like approaching a natural rock climbing wall. Peregrine falcons use the cliff face for their nests, and the whole cove is a haven for the birds.  The footpath through the area is called the Pennine Way; it’s part of a 267 miles trail through northern England. The trail ran through pasture land and was dotted with cattle and sheep; several times we changed fields and made sure to close the fence behind us lest the animals escape.

The sheer cliff face of Malham Cove; the colored spots are climbers
Malham Village, England

The real draw was at the top of the cove; water and wind have uniquely shaped the rocks into an eerie landscape. During The Deathly Hallows Pt. 1, Harry and Hermione camp on these rocks. It was a lonely spot in the movie, a perfect place to hide from Voldemort, but in real life there were lots of people climbing the face of the cove. Maybe the climbers come because of the movie and it was more desolate before, or maybe it’s always been popular.

I did not expect either of my parents to climb to the top; it’s a steep climb and it goes pretty high (260 feet), but they both did it. They didn’t stay up top very long, leaving us to explore a little more while they hiked back down. The entire hike we were serenaded by myriad wildlife including cows, sheep, and pheasant; Joe and I even found a flock of sheep on top of the cove. It was very pastoral and relaxing—I was reluctant to leave.

We regrouped at the bottom of the cove and decided to eat dinner in Malham Village; the Buck Inn was an easy decision as it was the only place open. The proprietors were very friendly and the food was delicious. While we were discussing the virtues of the onion rings the owner joked he could live on the onion rings, and I had to agree, though it would shorten both our life expectancies a bit. Before we came to Europe, everyone told us “Oh in [x] country they serve room temperature beer”. When in [x] country we would ask the locals and they would say, “oh no, not here, they serve it that way over in [y]”. We heard this about every beer drinking country, but until that night at the Buck Inn, all the beer was cold. At the Buck Inn we were drinking “Real Ale” or cask conditioned ale, which is unpasteurized, hand pumped beer served slightly below room temperature. So this would be considered warm compared to a cold, pasteurized, keg conditioned beer. The beer was more flavorful and less fizzy than keg beer, and I can appreciate the call for more “real” ales and ciders across Britain.

The steep Pennine Trail; perfect for sheep.
Malham Village, England

In addition to being a delicious pub, the Buck Inn is also an inn. My mom wanted to spend the night, but as tempting as it was, we’d already paid for accommodations in Newcastle, so we got back in the car after dinner. My dad was driving this leg, and to be honest, it was a little nerve-wracking—sorry Dad! We were following our Garmin, not the car’s built in GPS, and it was programmed to route us the fastest way. To calculate the route it uses posted speed limits, however if there is no posted speed limit it uses a default speed based on the road type. In the UK, the national speed limit on a single carriageway for cars in 60pmh unless otherwise posted. Using these default speeds the Garmin calculated that the quickest route to Newcastle was through the Yorkshire Dales Park. Unfortunately, we were not driving the default speed. The road was barely wider than our car and as it was through the national park, there were no street lights. To make our drive even more harrowing, there were also steep grade changes, 90⁰ hairpin turns, and no almost towns. Oh, also, we were running low on gas and the few tiny towns we drove through were all closed up for the night; yes the entire town was shuttered and dark. I could see the speedometer, so I know my Dad was only driving about 25 mph, but it felt like 70 in the dark and I spent most of the ride with every muscle in my body clenched in terror; I was very sore the next day.

Harry Potter fans will recognize this vista
Malham Village, England

Useful Links!
Pictures from Our Trip!
Take the Magical Mystery Tour
Liverpool Tourism Website
More about the Pennine Trail
About the Peregrine Falcons at Malham Cove
Images from HP7 (in case you forget where they camped)
Malham Cove at the Yorkshire Dales National Park
Malham Village Visitors Website
Learn more about what "Real Ale" is
The Buck Inn
Helpful information about driving in the UK

In the Footsteps of Legends

The Cutty Sark Museum
London, England

When my parents came to visit we planned a week long excursion to the UK. After we landed in London we proceeded to pick up our rental car, but Sixt wasn’t located at Heathrow; we had to take a shuttle out to the lot. Our car was a black Citroen something or other; the standard European hatchback. Whenever we get a new rental car (at least every 3 months), it’s my job to fiddle with the dials and to figure out how the navigation system works. The nav system wasn’t very intuitive or user friendly so I switched to our handheld Garmin—a decision I would later regret. Perhaps to make up for its navigational deficiencies the car came with a bonus; there was a CD already in the player! It wasn’t just any CD either; it was The Beatles #1 hits CD. Naturally we put it on and drove through London feeling very authentic.

Best. Picture. Ever.

Cutty Sark, London, England

Our first stop was the Cutty Sark, a ship that dates from the height of the British Imperialist era, though it was in use until 1954. This ship has been in dry dock since 1957 and acts as a museum of English maritime history. It was a very hands-on museum and there were many exhibits for children and Joe. A lot of the ship is original; they’ve delineated restoration work with gray paint; original ironwork is white. Most of the boat was dedicated cargo space and the living quarters were cramped; the vessel was designed for making money. Throughout its eight seafaring decades, the Cutty Sark carried a variety of cargo, but I think the best time would have been when it was ferrying tea from China; this cargo would have smelled much better than wool from Australia.

Crossing Abbey Road
London, England

We then drove all the way across London to Abbey Road. We parked in an underground lot and witnessed a large queue of cars at the exit. A man was struggling with the automatic pay system and the mechanical arm wouldn’t let him out. Among those behind the man were an irate delivery truck driver and an anxious mother late to pick up her kids. Later, when we returned, the arm was bent at a funny angle; perhaps forced just high enough to let a car through. Abbey Road was once again packed with people, and since I’d already been there, I volunteered to stand on the island of safety and take pictures. 

My mom asked me to take this picture.
She said she hadn't seen clothes like this in awhile.
Oxford, England

Despite not sounding like much, due to the size of London and the abundance of traffic, these two visits took us past 3pm. We were spending the night in Birmingham, so after visiting Abbey Road we headed north. We stopped briefly in Oxford for dinner. Originally we were going to try to take a tour of the Bodleian library, a Harry Potter set, but we arrived too late to join a tour. Even if we had arrived on time, I don’t think we would have made the tour; Oxford University was having its graduation that day and there were gowned students and their families everywhere; surely the tour would have been full.

Instead, we delighted ourselves with looking at the old buildings and eating dinner in the Kings Arms Tavern. Almost every year my parents spend a week in Colonial Williamsburg, and one of their favorite places to eat is the Kings Arms Tavern where the food is prepared using colonial methods, and the staff wear traditional garb. Since Colonial Williamsburg is set before the American Revolution, technically both taverns are British. In the modern Kings Arms we learned British pub protocol; place your order at the bar, receive a number, and wait for your food to be brought to your table. I ordered a rabbit pie with cider. Mmmmmm. Meat pies in the UK tend to refer to a stew baked in a puff pastry pie shell; very hearty and delicious. It was an excellent conclusion to our first day in England.

My parents outside the Kings Arms Tavern
Oxford, England

Useful Links!
Pictures from Our Trip!
Visiting the Cutty Sark
Abbey Road Live Feed Camera - Watch the Madness
My Sister and I Visit Abbey Road
Oxfordshire (region Oxford is in) Tourism Homepage
Oxford City Guide
Bodleian Library Tours
Kings Arms - The Oldest Pub in Oxford
Kings Arms Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg

British Stuff

Photo Bombing Random Idiots
Abbey Road, London, England

Before trekking to the next Waterstones, we headed out to St. John’s Wood. This is where Abbey Road Studios is located, and here you can recreate the eponymous Beatles album cover. What most people were ignoring is the most obvious; Abbey Road is a busy, working intersection. Morons were walking in front of buses and cars, and holding up traffic while they posed like bizarre Barbie dolls. I looked at the album cover, and all 4 Beatles were in the act of walking; not stopping, posing, and smiling for the camera. We crossed when it was safe, and without holding up traffic. We also casually ignored the camera in true Beatles fashion. I even (mostly) accidentally wrecked some other idiots’ photo. We were all going to cross and then they just stopped moving like Andy’s toys seeing a kid; I almost crashed into them. No apologies from me.

Our Island of Safety
Abbey Road, London, England

We left Abbey Road and headed for the British Museum, thinking we had left the madness behind. Our goal was to see the Egypt rooms and the Rosetta Stone, as described in the Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan. The British Museum is free, actually all state owned museums in the UK are free, and the place was packed, mostly with Asian tour groups.

There were people everywhere, and lots of them were really pushy. Tired of being bumped and jostled, we eventually abandoned the museum after a 30 minute wait for the bathroom. It was just too crowded, and the experience really wasn’t enjoyable.

The Rosetta Stone behind Glass
The British Museum, London, England

Leaving behind the throngs of people, we walked to the Waterstones on Euston Road. This bookstore is spread over 5 floors and is in an historic building. They also sell second hand books, and I was amazed to see them organized like new books; they weren’t stacked in milk crates. There were scores of books about British history, books by British authors, and books about British localities. It was tough to limit my purchases, but I only bought 3 books (from that particular store anyway).

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The British Museum
Abbey Road Studios Website
Live Video Feed of Abbey Road Crossing
Waterstones Bookstore

Last Day in the UK! It Rhymes!

The globe from the outside
London, England

Our last day in the UK was pretty relaxed; just wandering. The first stop of the day was the reconstructed Globe Theater. The Globe is on the banks of the Thames, and is pretty true to the original 17th century specifications. The only major changes are in regard to fire regulations; fewer people can enjoy a show at once, and they now have electricity.

We were the first tour group of the day and when we entered the theater it was empty. We managed to take a few good pictures before 100 French high school students joined us. It must have been tour group day because we ran into them everywhere. I would love to see a play here, but in early April, they aren’t showing any yet.

Ice Mice on the Millennium Bridge
London, England

We left the Globe and walked toward St. Paul’s Cathedral over the Millennium Bridge. This is the bridge attacked by Death Eaters in the cinematic version of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. We were going to pretend to witness the attacks when something else drove all other thoughts from our minds: ice mice. Someone had placed about a dozen mice on the bridge; they were made of ice. I only wish a sign had warned us ahead of time; watch for ice on bridge.

Twinings Tea Shop on the Strand
London, England

We next looped around St. Paul’s, a lovely church designed by the famous architect Christopher Wren. We admired it from the outside and continued along The Strand, stopping eventually at Twinings. Twinings is a tea company and we visited their original shop in London; it opened in 1706. Inside the Strand Shop are few displays of antique teas and memorabilia—oh, and tea!

The shop smelled amazing, and there were many ways to customize your tea purchase. I bought a few tins; they’re beautiful and I may even repurpose them into a craft once they’re empty. The shop was well lit and a pleasure to explore; the front door is still original.

Lincoln's Inn Fields aka #12 Grimmauld Place
London, England

When we left, we wandered over to Lincoln’s Inns Fields. This area was a little less genteel; there was a van distributing food for the homeless. How fitting then that this area provided the exteriors for #12 Grimmauld Place, Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. We snapped our pictures and returned to the more populated streets.

Leadenhall Market
London, England

Grimmauld Place was quite different from the other HP exteriors set we visited: Leadenhall Market. This is a covered market with a lot of specialty shops. The area is very quaint; each address is made of mosaicked tile. One particular sore in the market held our interest: The Glass House. Though it has since changed hands, The Glass House was used to film the muggle side of The Leaky Cauldron. It’s blue now, but the exterior is otherwise the same.

The Glass House in Leadenhall Market
London, England

We also visited a Waterstone’s Bookshop while in Leadenhall market. The internet can help you find any number of books on a particular subject, but I still maintain the best place to find information about the city you’re in is the local bookshop. Here you will find books you didn’t even know existed, sometimes as translations from other languages. It’s also more fun to buy a book in a store than it is online. You can hold it, feel the weight of it in your hand, and peer through its pages before purchasing.

I was on a hunt for a particular Jack the Ripper book, authored by the London Walks guide, Donald Rumbelow. Here on the blog I’ve directed you to Amazon, but that is because you are (probably) not in London. The first store didn’t have the book, but they directed me to another stores in the city; the hunt continued.


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Pictures from Our Trip
Shakespeare's Globe
St. Paul's Cathedral
Twinings Tea
Waterstones Bookstore
Jack the Ripper Book by Donald Rumbelow

You Were Seen by No Less than Seven Muggles!

The train ride between Edinburgh and London is beautiful and very picturesque. I googled the route and determined we needed to sit on the eastern side of the train. We saw cliffs on the coast, sheep and cows in the fields, and large towns, like Newcastle. It was a great way to travel and it only took about 4 hours. There was even a little kitchen on board for buying snacks and drinks. If you have an opportunity to train across the countryside in the UK; take it.

When we left for Scotland, we didn’t really have time to visit Platform 9¾, so when we returned to King’s Cross Station, we headed there first. Platform 9¾ is not actually between platforms 9 and 10 like in the book, but they are within sight.

This is not an attraction you can just wander up to and expect it to fit in your schedule. The muggles have noticed something, and the line is long. There is a conductor who outfits you with a scarf in your house colors, and a professional photographer who takes a picture of you while you are jumping. When holding the cart and jumping, you look like you’re running into the wall—especially when the conductor holds your scarf out in an act of movie magic.

After posing for your mildly embarrassing “magic” photo, and after your friends have taken personal photos of you being ridiculous, you can visit the Platform 9¾ Harry Potter Shop. In the shop you view the professional photos and decide if you want to purchase any souvenirs similar to those available at Leavesden. Most importantly, you can purchase a replica ticket for the Hogwarts Express.

Yes, this was a really cheesy place to visit. Yes, the line is long. But it was really fun, and as of this moment, still free.

My ticket to Hogwarts

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Chawton Cottage

Winchester Cathedral
Winchester, England

Our journey back to London from the beach took us by Winchester, and we stopped for a quick visit. This was a very cute town, and it reminded me of home. Chagrin Falls with a cathedral and some ruined castles.

Winchester Cathedral is a typical British cathedral from the outside, and probably inside too, but we weren’t willing to pay £8 each to find out. That’s approximately $12 a person to visit a church, and we felt that was a bit steep, so we admired it from the outside only. Inside is the burial place of Jane Austen, a very itinerant writer; many English places have a Jane claim to fame. Winchester is her final resting place, and it was here she spent the final weeks of her life.

King Arthur's Round Table

Winchester seems to house many remains, including the remains of King Arthur’s legendary round table. While the identity and reality of King Arthur are sometimes questioned, this round table is real and round, though it is no longer a table. The table was carbon dated, and is from the 13th or 14th century, so it is not actually a relic of the mythical king. The legs have been removed, and it is hanging in the Castle Winchester Great Hall overlooking all of Winchester. The Great Hall is all that remains of the Castle Winchester and it was originally used for legal purposes. King Henry VIII had it painted in its current colors. At the other end of the hall is a giant, vining mural of royalty and Hampshire members of Parliament since the 1200s.

Ancient plumbing isn't pretty.
Wolvesey Castle
Winchester, England

Back at the bottom of the hill were the remains of Wolvesey Castle, a Bishop’s castle from the 1100s. The rooms were quite spacious, and the ruined walls stood out against the sky. Bishop Henry of Blois also had indoor plumbing—a marvel in his day, but a bit of a cesspool now.

Wolvesey Castle Ruins
Winchester, England

When we finished imagining what was once a beautiful castle, we returned to Main Street for dinner. My sister and Joe wanted to check out a restaurant we walked by earlier that smelled good. The previous night we had eaten at a pub near Temple Tube Station that had the best onion rings. We were on an onion kick. The two were shocked when the menu didn’t have onion rings. I should explain . . . they had onions on the brain and thought the place was called Onion Jack’s. It was actually called Union Jack’s, like slang term for the British flag. Since they didn’t have any rings, we moved onto the next destination: Chawton.

Winchester was where Jane Austen died, and Chawton was where she lived and where she wrote. While Austen was living in Chawton Cottage, Sense and Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma were all published. Her former home has been converted into a museum and gift shop, but these were closed when arrived. But for me, it was enough just to see the place where she wrote. I’ve read some of her letters and the village and houses were exactly as she described. I also liked thinking that the town provided her with people to study and helped her create her own characters that continue to inspire and captivate.

Chawton Cottage
Now the Jane Austen House Museum
Chawton, England

The onion twins were also satisfied. Across the street was the village pub The Greyfriar. They each ordered a side of onion rings with their meal. When my turn to order came, I asked about the soup of the day since I was feeling sick. The soup was potato and leek, and being unsure about what exactly leeks were, I asked, “Those are like onions, right?” At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but Joe pointed out that since all 3 of us ordered onion rings, it looked like we wanted onions on everything, and the waitress probably thought we were all crazy. My favorite part of being in the UK though, besides the onions, was all the cider! On tap! In bottles! Flavored! Subtle! LOVED IT!

We were seated right next to the fireplace, and we got to observe the people of Chawton in their local pub. Our waitress owned the place with her husband, and they had a giant dog. This guy was about 3 feet tall and very shaggy; he reminded me of a Muppet. When we finished, we reluctantly returned to the hustle and bustle of London.

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Pictures from Our Trip!

Winchester Cathedral

Castle Winchester Great Hall

Wolvesey Castle

Union Jack’s Pub Menu

History of the Union Jack (The British Flag)

Jane Austen House Museum

Jane Austen House Museum Online Shop - Where You Can Buy a Facsimile of the 1st Edition of Sense and Sensibility

The Greyfriar Pub in the Village of Chawton

Jurassic Park

Lulworth Cove, Dorset, England

The next stop on our farther afield trip was the Jurassic Coast. We visited a portion in a little town called Lulworth Cove; I chose it so we could see the Durdle Door. Moving from Hampton Roads to Alpine Germany cuts your beach time severely, and I was missing the coast.

The Durdle Door from the top of the Cliff. We hiked down to the shore.
Dorset, England

The name Jurassic Coast comes from the fossils found here over the centuries. The Jurassic Coast stretches along 96 miles of beaches on England’s Southern coast. The area is susceptible to land slips, and that is how many of the larger fossils were found; a swath of the cliffs on the coastline fell away revealing the fossils inside, including marine dinosaurs. The fossils span 180 million year of history, and are not only from the Jurassic, but also the Triassic and Cretaceous periods.

The whole Jurassic coast is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but you can still collect fossils if you follow certain guidelines. If you uncover large or scientifically significant fossils, you must report your find, and if you follow the rules, it is likely you will be allowed to keep it. Full details of the fossil code can be found here.

We found a few small fossils we were able to take without violating the fossil code, and we didn’t see anything larger. The bigger, more important fossils usually turn up after a storm when the landscape has changed enough to uncover them.

England's unique coastline; grassy hills to the right, sheer cliff faces to the left.
Dorset, England

England’s coastline is not like a typical American coast where you approach a nice flat beach and can see the ocean from miles away. The English coast is made up of sheer cliff faces that crumble easily. When we arrived in Lulworth, we were unsure if we were in the right place because the landscape still looked like the countryside we had been driving through; rolling, grassy hills. Once we climbed the hills, we were able to see their backsides, the rocky cliffs, and climb down to the shore. It was beautiful and tricky. In some places there used to be stairs and paths, but the land under them has eroded, and the man-made stuff has crashed to beach below. Now it is a much more authentic hiking experience; no handrails or pavements, just difficult ground. Even the beach itself was unstable; the sand was coarse, more like gravel, and it gave way under foot.

The beach and the cliffs near Durdle Door
Dorset, England

All difficulties in arriving were forgotten when we reached the beach, and our fossil hunt began. The smallest pebbles in the sand we largely ignored, though we did see some of the tiniest shells among them: about 2mm at their tallest. We looked for ammonites among the larger rocks and we actually found something! They’re small, but since we didn’t bring a hammer and chisel, they’re the best we could hope for.

The beach was gorgeous, I would love to spend more time on the English coast, and maybe discover a much large fossil. The area is dotted with small towns like Lulworth, and spending time in any of them would be a very relaxing vacation. Jane Austen herself spent some time on the Jurassic Coast in a town called Lyme Regis, and it later became the setting of one of her novels: Persuasion. 

Useful Links!

Pictures from Our Trip!

Collecting Fossils on the Jurassic Coast

Lulworth Cove Town Homepage

The West Dorset Fossil Code

UNESCO World Heritage page about the Jurassic Coast

Ichthyosaur Fossil Found on Jurassic Coast in April 2013

More Information about Lulworth

Jack el Destripador

We’re big fans of walking tours; they let you explore less frequented parts of cities while following a fun, central theme. In the past we’ve done been tours, but on this trip we started with a history tour exploring the infamous serial killer: Jack the Ripper.

A little online research pointed me to the best tour company in London, London Walks. They have dozens of different tours, all over the city. It was difficult to settle on a particular tour, but ultimately we narrowed it down to their most publicized tour, the Jack the Ripper walk.

The reason this tour is so popular and so publicized is because of the guides, or one in particular, Donald Rumbelow. Mr. Rumbelow is the designer of the Ripper walk, and the guides base their tours off his research. He is the leading authority on Jack the Ripper and has written several books on the subject, with a new one due out this fall.

The Complete Jack the Ripper
Photo from Amazon.com

It’s a scandalous tale involving members of the royal family and those close to them. It seems the murders weren’t random, but carefully calculated killings. To this day, the records are still classified by Scotland Yard, and their date of de-classification keeps being pushed back, citing concerns for national security. Mr. Rumbelow believes that is the truth came out, there are persons still living who would be affected, and that is why the records are still being withheld from the public.

The information in the walk is not published on the London Walks website, and I won’t be ruining the surprise here. If you are in London, I highly recommend the tour, and it runs every night. If London is not in your travel plans, or if you are impatient, you can order Donald Rumbelow’s current book, The Complete Jack the Ripper, from Amazon and obtain the information that way.

This tour was wonderful because it was conducted by a subject matter expert, and because it was designed to educate. The London walks don’t try to reel you into their tours with gimmicks and costumes. There were other tour companies operating in the area, and these guides were costumed and/or carried weird props; London Walks doesn’t do that. Our guide saw one of these other groups and sarcastically asked my sister “Do you wish I had a lantern?” Our tour was more like mobile lecture on a seedier chapter of London history, and it was very enjoyable.

Useful Links!
London Walks
Jack the Ripper walk
Buy The Complete Jack the Ripper from Amazon

Farther Afield

This is always a topic in the guidebooks; they run through the sites of the major city you plan on visiting, and then they mention things farther afield. These sites are at least 40 minutes outside of town and usually best reached by car, thereby eliminating many potential visitors.

Everything is Opposite!

For our UK trip we decided to make the one of our days a farther afield day. Our stops were to include Stonehenge, Lulworth Cove with its Durdle Dor, Winchester to see King Arthur’s Table, and Jane Austen’s home, Chawton Cottage. We would need a car, so we arranged to pick one up the night before we departed on our adventure.

Just a reminder, in case it slipped your mind, in the UK, they drive on the left side of the road. In case that wasn’t confusing enough, they drive on the right side of the car. Our rental car conformed to British standards and provided us with endless amusement because it was a black Volkswagen Beetle. Punch buggy! It was very bizarre being a front seat passenger on the left side. Turning was mildly terrifying, but Joe deserves a lot of credit for driving around both London and the countryside without killing us or anyone else.

Image from The Mortise and Tenon Joint-The Mortise
Available from this website.

When researching Stonehenge, I learned for an additional fee, you can visit the stones before the attraction opens or after it closes to the public. During this visit you do not have to pay for parking and you have free range of the park; you can walk all around the stones and inside the circles, so long as you do not touch or climb on the stones. Since Stonehenge was our first stop of the day, I requested morning admission. Our request was approved, but we were assigned to the earlier time slot: 6:45am. To ensure a timely arrival at the park we needed to depart London around 4:30am. This adventure could not have happened without advanced, pre-booking. I realize that sounds redundant, let me clarify, this needed to be booked months ahead of time, not hours or days. Like at the Vatican Necropolis, the English Heritage controls the number of visitors to protect the site.

When I booked our tickets, I also reserved a guidebook; arriving at 6:45am meant the gift shop would not be open; there would be no one site purchases. However, when we arrived, there was no guidebook; no one remembered to set one out for me the previous evening.

The stone on the left clearly has a tenon showing.
Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England

When Stonehenge is closed to the public, the only staff members on site are the security guards. Because of the incident with the guidebook, we were directed to the head guard, Brian. He apologized profusely, and accepted responsibility for the error—not something done frequently. As recompense for the mistakes made, he offered to answer any of our questions, and act as our personal guidebook. Brian was very knowledgeable, and had spent time with (presumably supervising) various archeologists during their digs in the area.

Inside the red circle is the signature of Christopher Wren
Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England

The first question out of Joe’s mouth was “So the aliens made this, right?” Brian promised to definitively prove that theory false by showing us examples of human error. The outer ring at Stonehenge is made with local sarsen sandstone, hence calling the largest stones sarsens. These were arranged into the iconic trilithons, two upright posts capped with a lintel stone. The stones are joined with two types of joints, mortise and tenon to join posts to lintels, and tongue and groove to join lintels and link up the trilithons. In the thousands of years since its construction, some of the trilithons have fallen and come apart. On one dissembled trilithon, the round tenon is clearly visible. Brian then showed us the corresponding lintel with the mortise groove; on one side of the lintel, a mortise was started, but never finished; the finished mortise was on the other side, clearly demonstrating human error. This definitely demonstrates an error, and “to err is human”, but who’s to say aliens don’t make errors as well? Brian definitively proved the people (or beings) that made the stones were imperfect, but do only humans err?

An ax head is clearly visible here, next to a dagger.
Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England

Having Brian act as our guide was wonderful; he pointed out details we would have missed if we had been exploring on our own. A curiosity he brought to our attention was the ancient and antique graffiti, including a few marks thought to be left by Sir Christopher Wren, architect of St. Paul’s cathedral in London. There are also over 100 ax heads carved onto the surface of the stones. These are thought to be from the Bronze Age, and may indicate the site of burials or cremations since the ax head has long been associated with various deities.

Lichens on one of the fallen stones
Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England

Much to my sister’s and my amusement, there were dozens of sheep scattered in the fields around Stonehenge. Brian explained the sheep are quieter and more picturesque than lawn mowers, so they are used to keep the fields cropped, but they aren’t allowed up near the stones. We asked why, and the response we received was surprising; the sheep eat the lichens on the stones. When the lichens are removed (or eaten) some of the top layer of stone is removed as well, opening up the under layers to abuse from pollutants and weather. There are also rare and endangered lichens on these stones, including a variety usually found only in salty areas, but for some reason, this halophile has thrived some 30 miles inland.

Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England

The morning was hazy and windy, and when Brian finished showing us around, my sister and I huddled behind a stone, trying to block the wind, and we observed the other people around us. There was one guy doing something a little strange. First, he had a small pouch on a string that he was swinging around, like a priest with frankincense. Then he had some L-shaped rods he was holding; they were like metal TV antennae and he was holding one in each hand by the short part of the L. Joe asked him about it, and they were dousing rods; they moved back and forth when they detected energy. Outside the circle the barely moved at all, but inside, toward the center of the circle, they wriggled much more. According to Joe, the craziest part was, the two rods moved completely independent of each other.

Assuming the rods were actually working, and really detecting energy, perhaps it’s residual from the henge’s first use. I watched a documentary on the history channel about how the area was used as a celebratory area for death and rebirth; it’s no coincidence the circle lines up with the sun on the summer and winter solstices. Or maybe the energy isn’t residual at all; Wiccans still regularly conduct ceremonies here. Either way, Stonehenge is still full of mysteries that scientists are continuing to unravel, even as you read this.

Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England

Useful Links!
Pictures from Our Trip!
Article Discussing Reasons Behind Stonehenge's Location (This is recent, from April 2013)
Article About the Lichens on the Rocks at Stonehenge
Stonehenge at History.com
Stonehenge at Sacred Destinations
Map of Stonehenge from English Heritage
Stonehenge Laser Scan: Archaeological Analysis Report (This was interesting)
Summary of the Above Report if You Don't Want to Wade through the Scientific Jargon (Bear in mind, the report is better)
Theories About Stonehenge
History of Stonehenge
National Geographic Article about Stonehenge
Smithsonian Magazine Article about Stonehenge
About Mortise and Tenon Joints

A Visit to Diagon Alley

Leavesden Studios, Hertfordshire, England

Do doo dodo doo do dooo do. Doo dodo doo doo doooo.

That’s my interpretation of Prologue by John Williams, in case you were confused, the song currently playing for your enjoyment. Do doo dodo doo do dooo do. Doo dodo doo doo doooo. We went to Warner Brother’s Leavesden Studios where the 8 Harry Potter (HP) movies were filmed! Get ready for some serious geeking out! It’s a Potter Post!!

My interpretaion of fantasy fiction.
Image from Zazzle Posters

My first encounter with Harry was in the 7th grade, in Canada. This was the first year of its publication and a friend was trying to get me to read it. I blew her off saying I didn’t want to read about witches and wizards. When I said no to her, I was thinking about super nerds, and imagined an artful unicorn poster come to life. Not really something I was interested in; instead I stuck to my mysteries, learning to love Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. 

The Head Table in the Great Hall at Leavesden Studios
Hertfordshire, England

Later, Harry became harder to avoid. I really hate reading trendy books, so I was still refusing to read Potter, but now for 2 reasons: the aforementioned aversion to fantasy, and the unwillingness to participate in something popular. When the first movie came out on DVD, Harry became impossible to ignore, and I had to suffer through the first movie at a youth group lock in. But it wasn’t bad, and I wasn’t suffering. It was funny, thrilling, and engaging. I was hooked. I hadn’t slept all night, but when I got home, I tore apart my sister’s closet; I remembered my mom had bought the books for my sister a couple years earlier, and that’s where any of us had last seen them. 

I raced through the books, each more amazing than the last. Yes, they were for children, but the writing was beautiful, and I was able to lose myself in it. Then came the agony; only 4 books out of 7 had been published. I’d read greedily, knowing I had easy access to more, and then silence. Waiting. Re-reading. I had to wait years to finish the story. In the meantime, I busied myself with guidebooks, dissecting the language of the world I so loved, and trying to divine the future of the story. It was from these unofficial guidebooks that I really began to appreciate the depth of Rowling’s writing—the amount of thought behind each sentence, each name. This wasn’t haphazard writing; she had a carefully devised plan, and was leaving clues behind for us to follow.

Professor Umbridge was one of my favorite characters because
she was so well written, I loved her because I hated her.
Educational Decrees from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Leavesden Studios. Hertforshire, England.

Harry was my escape. Here was a world entirely different from my own; I could forget the stress of being an angsty teenager, the personal responsibility of college, the fact that I was planning a wedding while fiancé was in a war zone, the nightmares. It all fell away while I was at Hogwarts. I still read the books, once or twice a year, and they still captivate me, every time. I envy those who haven’t read them. It would be wonderful to begin again without knowing what I know now, but with each read comes new perspective and new appreciation of the writing. 

While waiting in line, we were treated to the
cupboard under the stairs from
Harry Potter and the Socerer'sStone.
 Leavesden Studios. Hertforshire, England.

When the movies were released, they brought my imagination to life. On screen, before my eyes, Hogwarts was revealed. I could almost believe it was real, at least for a few hours. Many of the props and sets have survived the decade long franchise, and these are kept at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, another town of my imagination, about 40 minutes outside of London. 

"Password?"
Leavesden Studios, Hertfordshire, England.

Leavesden Studios is an immensely popular attraction. I booked our tickets several months in advance, and reserved the first available time slot. When we arrived, we exchanged our vouchers for tickets and queued up inside. We still had to wait about a half an hour before we were able to enter. Later tours had to wait even longer; the queue had tripled in length when we exited. 

The Black Family Tapestry was enormous, this is only one fourth of it.
The tapestry was on screen for less than five minutes.
Leavesden Studios, Hertfordshire, England.

The tour is self-guided, and you can linger as long as you like. Around the studios is a well-educated staff, only too willing to talk about Potter and the movie magic required to bring the stores to life.  I enjoyed listening to the staff, but I wish I knew where they were standing. I often wandered up in the middle of an explanation, wishing I could have heard it from the onset.

Ron Weasley's Bed
Leavesden Studios, Hertfordshire, England.

The details in the props were amazing. They displayed a level of craftsmanship not easily observed in the films. The devotion to the characters and plots comes through in the sets. Sure, there were some creative liberties taken *cough, cough Burning Burrow cough, cough* but overall the people designing the sets tried to stay true to the books. 

One of my favorite rooms was the boys’ dormitory. This room featured in many of the films, but it didn’t get a whole lot of screen time. Nevertheless, the beds and night stands were outfitted for each particular student. On Ron’s bed was a homemade, patchwork blanket. Was this blanket mentioned in the books? No, but knowing the Weasleys, it is easy to believe such a blanket could have been there the entire time. In the stories, J.K. Rowling didn’t concern herself with minutiae, like how many cauldrons were stacked outside Potage’s Cauldron Shop, but the movies makers did, and as a result, the world experienced a place that could exist in real life; outside of our collective imagination. 

Cauldrons stacked outside Potage's Cauldron Shop.
Diagon Alley, Leavesden Studios
Hertfordshire, England

My one complaint comes from the gift shop, and the actual studios. (Platform Nine and) Three quarters of the gift shop was full of cheap, plastic souvenirs for children; slapping an HP logo or school crest on anything. The last quarter of the store was real souvenirs; things kept in cases and behind glass, things the average collector couldn’t afford. There was no middle ground for someone like me. I loved the concept art, but a non-signed print would have been fine. I don’t need the limited edition, framed version, and I certainly can’t afford it. On the flip side, I don’t want to tack a poster of Daniel Radcliffe to my wall either.

Concept Art of the Goblet of Fire
Leavesden Studios, Hertfordshire, England

If you loved the movies, and you definitely know Hogwarts isn’t real, Leavesden is worth a visit. If, however, you can’t handle learning the truth about the movie magic behind the Potter magic, you may want to skip it.



Scroll down for more pictures, and important links.

This owl is real, and she was one the birds that played Hedwig.

This is one of the cats that played Crookshanks, and he is
mesmerized by a treat his trainer is holding.

On the day we visited, the studios were in the midst of celebrating their one year anniversary, and as part of the celebrations, the animal actors were on site.

The Potions Classroom with Self-Stirring Cauldrons.
Leavesden Studios, Hertfordshire, England

Some of the Paper Props created for the films.
Leavesden Studios, Hertfordshire, England.

As Umbridge gained more power in the ministry, the crew made her outfits pinker.
Leavesden Studios, Hertfordshire, England.

Potage's Cauldron Shop (R) and Mr. Mulpepper's Apothecary (L)
Diagon Alley, Leavesden Studios, Hertfordshire, England.

Diagon Alley, Leavesden Studios, Hertfordshire, England.

Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment
Diagon Alley, Leavesden Studios, Hertfordshire, England

Hailing the Knight Bus
Leavesden Studios, Hertfordhsire, England

Useful Links!

Pictures from Our Trip!
The Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter

Warner Brothers Leavesden Studios

Online Booking of Studio Tours
Purchase Your Own Unicorn Poster from Zazzle.com

The Song Playing is Prologue by John Williams

Williams, John. (2001). Prologue. [Recorded by Simon Rhodes]. On Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone [CD]. London: Atlantic Records.