We gathered after breakfast Monday morning, missing a bunch of ladies who had either left the night before or who were staying on longer in England. Our coach driver loaded up our bags, and those of us heading back to London settled into our seats. All of us flying out that afternoon had enough time to stop through Lacock Village on the way, and we looked forward to seeing the site of favorite costume dramas like “Cranford” and A&E’s “Pride & Prejudice.” The morning was sunny, promising a pretty drive through Wiltshire. After a very short drive, we pulled into the parking area outside the village. Everyone was eager to hop out and see what lay beyond the trees shielding Lacock from view. We took the footpath and soon arrived next to the gate for magnificent Lacock Abbey. After pausing to snap some shots, we wended our way through this wonderful medieval village, enjoying all the cozy cottages and lovely inns and shops. This really is a fabulous location! There’s even a cottage you can rent for vacations–dreamy. [The first seven pictures below come from Lindsay's camera--thanks, Linds! The rest are my snapshots.]
Lacock Abbey
Looking down the main street, with the Red Lion Inn on the left (Recognize it? Picture Mr. Darcy gazing at in disgust by torchlight--the Meryton Assembly Rooms!)
My husband stands in front of King John's Hunting Lodge, one of the oldest inns in Lacock.
Miss Molly poses for a snap in costume, looking right at home!
Gazing out across the fields of Wiltshire surrounding the village.
The parish church in Lacock
An ornate iron fence surrounds a tomb in the churchyard.
Looking down the nave of the church. I loved all the light streaming in from the leaded glass windows.
A look up at the timbered ceiling--beautiful!
Ornate leaded glass windows down the side of the church...
Windows above with the sun streaming down...
And the beautiful stained glass window...
The lectern up at the front...
Looking through the front door out toward the graveyard...
Side view of the church with my son walking amongst the tombs...
One of many beautiful half-timbered cottages.
I love this one!
Looking through the gate toward the memorial chapel and graveyard...
The town's war memorial for those lost in WWI and WWII. For a village this small, there was a surprisingly high number of losses in WWI.
Looking up the alleyway next to The George Inn towards the woolen shop.
The George Inn itself.
And we must showcase the flowers around the doorway!
Looking 'round the corner from The George...
A charming stone cottage
The Sign of the Angel -- inn and pub.
A closer view of King John's Hunting Lodge
The shopkeeper across the street mentioned that a lot of the houses on this street had their upper rooms bumped out over the lower to fit large looms for weaving, which was a staple trade in the 15th and 16th centuries.
After doing some shopping in the National Trust store and enjoying a light lunch in the village, we re-boarded our bus for the drive to Heathrow. It was so hard to believe our time in England had at last come to an end! We gazed out over the countryside to drink in all we could before our flight homeward. We can never say a final “goodbye” to England, as it really feels like home after all our visits. We say “au revoir” instead and hope we’ll see it again soon!
Now, I have a few goodies from the Jane Austen Festival to give away in my final blog post, so prepare yourself for a trivia contest! I’m going to post questions about the things we saw and did while in the UK, and the first four readers to send in correct answers will win the goodies. Stay tuned!