The Delights of Highclere

When we started planning our trip to England and Scotland I knew that Highclere Castle had to be on the agenda. The PBS show, Downton Abbey, had captivated us and to see where it was filmed would be a special treat.

Highclere was to be our first stop the day after landing at Heathrow. We scoped it out the night before our visit. It is possible to drive right up to the parking lot and see the castle without leaving one’s car. We stayed in the nearby Yew Tree Inn and I could hardly wait to see the inside of the castle and view the rooms that had become so familiar to us on Downton.

Two weeks before we left for England I received an email saying we could attend a high tea in the Coach House behind the castle if we so desired. It seemed a once in a lifetime thing to do, so I signed us up for tea at 2:15 p.m. It was not inexpensive, but we found that the experience was worth every penny we paid for it.

The drive onto the castle property shows a beautiful landscape filled with sheep grazing in meadows. No other structures can be seen from the castle, just rolling meadows of green grass and trees. There is a large grass covered parking lot fairly close to the castle with just a short walk through the gate and up to the front door where a woman took our tickets.

Sheep in a meadow leading up to Highclere Castle.

The main entrance is on the other side.

The tour through Highclere Castle is self guided. There are people in each room that will answer questions and I had a few when I saw some china in a glass case. I was curious to know what company made it and asked the man who was guarding the room and answering questions. He told me it was Sevres, a high quality French porcelain.

Because this castle is home to the Earl and Countess Carnarvon, there were personal photos of theirs on various tables. We were told no pictures were to be taken even if not using a flash. We obeyed that on the first floor. When I saw a woman taking pictures of the bedrooms on the second floor I asked her if she was being naughty. She said, “All my friends in Canada are depending on me.” I laughed and looked around to see if anyone was watching and snapped a few pictures of my own. Hack did the same thing. Luckily there were no photo police following us.

Looking down to the main floor.

The gardens of Highclere were a short distance from the castle down a gravel path.  A groundskeeper was trimming and the work involved in keeping up this huge place has to be enormous and expensive.. The fact that tourists are coming in droves and spending many pounds to get in has to be helping the Carnarvons manage their property. There are two tea rooms and a gift shop that also add money to their bank account.

The gate out of the garden area.

At 2:15 p.m. we went into the Coach House and were led upstairs to the tea room. The tables were covered with white linen table cloths and yellow roses graced every table. We were brought glasses of champagne, a pot of tea and then a three tiered plate with small sandwiches, pastries and scones. It seemed a massive amount of food, but Hack said, “Let’s pace ourselves and eat every bit.” We did. It was all delicious.

Tea for Two

Highclere closed to the public for the year on September 22. We were there on September 15. It was fun to see the first episode of Downton Abbey on BBC while we were in Edinburgh. I will not give anything away, but season five contains many plot lines that will keep us watching in the cold and snowy winter in Michigan. I would recommend to anyone that if they get a chance to go to England, go when Highclere is open to the public. You won’t regret that decision.

Much beauty everywhere, even in the little things like this bench and pot of flowers.

A huge tree that is often seen on Downton Abby.

Yup....we were actually there.

Visitors to Highclere having lunch on the back lawn.

Almost Picture Perfect

The year was 2006 and we were in Berchtesgaden, Germany shopping. In a clothing store containing adult and children’s clothes I saw two dark blue jumpers with embroidered flowers on the front and light blue gingham trim that looked very German and would fit our one and two year old granddaughters. We needed a third one for our four year old granddaughter so the owner of the shop called another shop in town where he was sure they had a bigger size. He took off at a swift pace and sure enough returned with the third one. We brought them home and that was the beginning of my picture taking of grandchildren for Christmas cards.

Avery in her German jumper.

Adrianna and Jay age four, Avery about 20 months and Bella age two pose
for the Christmas card in 2006.

Each year I purchased look alike dresses for Adrianna, Bella and Avery and when there were five in the picture after the birth of Carter, the boys wore coordinating clothes. The children were almost always barefoot

When the grands were small my daughter-in-law stood behind me and made goofy faces to get all of them to smile. A particularly cute shot was when they were sitting on the steps leading to the upstairs of my son and daughter-in-law’s house. The little girls were dressed in white and red dresses. It was Carter’s first Christmas card picture and he gave me a great smile.

Some of the dresses over the years were yellow print, blue print and blue sundresses. The year the girls wore yellow dresses was one of my favorites. I ended up having Emily Kunsky paint a picture of the photo and the artwork hangs in our family room. It is a moment frozen in time that delights me every time I look at it.

One of my favorite Christmas card shots.

In later years I was better off with no parents around during the photo shoot. But if you think that getting a good shot of them would be easier because they’re not toddlers, you would be wrong. Two twelve year olds, a ten year old, a nine year old and then our seven year old form a group of independent minded souls.

Last year I got a random shot at Boyne Mountain with them wearing whatever they had on at the time. The photo of them sitting on rocks with the sunshine behind them turned out glorious. It was a lucky shot.

Casual Boyne Mountain photo shoot in 2013.

This year, Labor Day weekend, clothes were coordinated by our oldest granddaughter Adrianna. We all piled into the golf cart with a few ideas in mind, but the spring was our primary destination. Instead of dictating what they should do, I made a few suggestions and they came up with ideas. Here’s where the trouble started. So and so didn’t want to stand by her brother. Well, she has two brothers so that made it hard. Then there was the goofiness. Trying to get them to stand up straight I said, “Look up.” I couldn't see that clearly through my viewfinder so got the shot below.

Goofy Adrianna is looking up.

“Let’s take a picture on the rocks,” one of them says. Problem is there are four rocks and five people. Again, “I don’t want to stand next to my brother.” But in the end, out of sixty plus pictures snapped, there are two I can use. I thought that maybe I would try another day, but then discarded that idea.

Avery can't find a rock to stand on.

There will come a time when they won’t want me to take their picture. I will then miss the struggle for one good shot. I will miss the laughs and the pouting and the goofiness of their poses. Meanwhile I wonder what they will wear next year and how tall they will be. The Christmas picture is a running timeline of where they are and where they have been. I will continue as long as they let me, which leads to my overused line every year. “Children, please cooperate.” But then I’m not sure I would know how to act if they did completely.   

The fun of taking photos is shown through Adrianna balancing on the log.  She says she likes me taking her picture because I make her look beautiful. She doesn't need a photo to show that though.  

End of a season

A chill wind comes off the big lake

causing white caps to cross

three shades of blue

Multicolored umbrellas dot

the beach but everyone

knows it is the end

Labor Day approaches

with a hint of autumn and

all its quiet glory

Tourists crowd the beachy streets

but store fronts show

their sale signs

My toes are tickled by the waves
while I drink fresh squeezed lemonade  

elevating my desire for more time

More summer.. more carefree days

but mums are in pots on the steps

of a shop and I am turned toward fall