The Top 5 Destinations Austen Fans MUST Visit

Guest blog for P&P Tours by Amber Kingsley

 

Doesn’t reading a Jane Austen novel just make you wish you could live it?  Cases in point include BBC miniseries Lost in Austen, and the recent film (adapted from Shannon Hale’s popular novel) Austenland.  There’s something about the inherent romance and witty sparkle of her stories that just make you wish you could step right into Regency England.

While you can’t live out the plot of Pride and Prejudice, you can do the next best thing: go on a Jane Austen highlights tour--visit all of her favourite haunts in real life, plus the ones she does such justice to in her writing.  Here’s a brief list of my pick of the top Austen destinations of England:

Chatsworth

Chatsworth House in Derbyshire was used as Pemberley, the residence of Mr.Darcy, in the 2005 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and is mentioned in the actual novel as one of the estates Lizzie Bennet visits before arriving at Pemberley . Home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, Chatsworth House is open to the public for tours--it’s the perfect day trip for you and your friends!  And in addition to the beauty and splendour of the house itself, the surrounding grounds are also quite the sight for sore eyes.

 

Sidmouth

Take a break from Jane’s English countryside experience and stroll by the seaside in the town of Sidmouth. Although Jane never married, it is rumoured she may have experienced a summer romance with an unnamed man who was possibly a clergyman while on holiday in Sidmouth. The story goes that Austen and her mystery man never wed because he died unexpectedly soon after their meeting. Whether the story is true or false, one thing is for sure, you won’t want to miss out on this quaint seaside town. Much of the Regency period architecture still stands, and you can walk down to the same harbour that our favourite author once knew.

London

Jane Austen fan or not, London is a must-see.  But what about Austen acolytes in particular?  Visit St. Clements Church to see where Lydia and Wickham married, or Henrietta Place, where Jane Austen visited her brother in 1813 and 1814, or Kensington Garden where Elinor Dashwood went on a walk with Mrs. Jennings. London was and is the place to be for eligible ladies.


Bath

Jane Austen lived in Bath for short paeriods of her life , and it makes major appearances in two of her well-loved books, Persuasion and Northanger Abbey.  For Austen devotees, a visit to the Jane Austen Centre is a must--they have period costumes on display, and their gift shop is quite lovely--you can get a button quoting I ♥ Mr. Darcy (or I ♥ Mr. Knightley, or I ♥ Mr. Tilney; whatever floats your boat!) .  You can also see Jane's  places of residence.  Plus, Bath offers some gorgeously picturesque Jane Austen walking tours and a natural hot springs spa that is perfect for an Austen themed hen party.

 

Chawton

Jane Austen spent the last eight years of her life in Chawton--it’s where she wrote Emma, Persuasion, and Mansfield Park.  The red brick cottage in which she once lived is now a museum in her honour: showcasing Austen family portraits, and some of Jane's manuscripts as well as her precious writing desk.  Chawton is a beautiful village that is actually quite close to her birthplace in Steventon--another location that the Austen devotee is sure to love.

So where to first?  Happy travels!

 

Amber Kingsley is a freelance writer for RedSeven Leisure and has written several articles on her favourite travel tips for a variety of sites and blogs. As an avid fan of both travel and Jane Austen, she has visited several locations devoted to the famous author and hopes to explore more destinations frequented by her favourite authors.

DOWNTON ABBEY Christmas Special

At P AND P TOURS we're all on tenterhooks waiting for the Xmas special... will Lady Mary find herself pregnant... will Lady Edith be successful in love... will Branson stay on?
Here's a snippet from cartermatt.com who writes
"You have to give some serious credit to the producers of “Downton Abbey” season 3 at this very moment. Their Christmas special is now only a month and a half away from airing, but we still know so little about it that almost the entire ordeal is shrouded in mystery. This will likely stay that way until we get a week or two away from the show finally airing, and at that point producers may finally submit to giving us some more information just about what is happening via a promo or a press release.For now, what we can tell you is this: the special was taping in August using some of the same sort of locations that you would expect to see on the show, and that it will be a two-hour episode just as it was this past year. When you think about it, this more or less extends the past two years of “Downton Abbey” to ten episodes, which puts it at the same length as some HBO series such as “Game of Thrones” or “The Newsroom.” (That bit of trivia is for those of you constantly complaining that the show is too short.)

There are rumors floating around that suggest this special may not be set during the holidays, but these for the time being are not confirmed. Even if this is the case, the special is still expected to celebrate the spirit of the holiday; given that this special actually airs on Christmas Day, it’s hard to see it being overly depressing on the same level as Sybil dying during childbirth.
What we are a bit more curious about is whether or not we will be handed any answers pertaining to the show’s greatest mysteries in this special, including whether or not Dan Stevens and Maggie Smith are going to return to the show. If Julian Fellowes knew in advance that they were each not going to be back (though this is unlikely), he may have created something in the script to send Matthew or Violet away from the Abbey."

Firth and Fassbender double bill thrill

 
  According to www.examiner.com a new film is send our hearts into double-flutter when it hits our screens in 2014.
examiner writes; "Two phenomenal actors are set to star in what is likely to be an Oscar contender.
According to a press release today (via Collider), Academy Award winner Colin Firth (“The King’s Speech”) and Michael Fassbender (“X-Men: First Class”) have joined director Michael Grandage’s “Genius.”
Based on A. Scott Berg’s biography “Max Perkins: Editor of Genius,” and it tells the story of the relationship between Thomas Wolfe (Fassbender) and editor Max Perkins (Firth).
Perkins served as an editor for a number of literary greats, including Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and his role as a devoted friend and surrogate psychoanalyst made him privy to the intricate details of these men’s lives.
The script was written by John Logan (“Hugo”) so you know it will have some excellent character development, but unfortunately we will not be able to see this epic team-up for more than 2 years as it doesn’t begin production until early 2014."

Early booking discount for all our tours

We are offering a 5% discount for all of our P&P Tours, and other full tours including Sense & Sensibility, for any booking made between now and 31st January 2013. This includes the special LADY CATHERINE places where you get to stay in film locations and have all the luxury of being a VIP client.
All our prices are on the website under the Itinerary page, contained within the relevant itinerary.
P&P runs first in May, and again in June, August and September, when you can combine the tour with a weekend with us at the world famous JANE AUSTEN FESTIVAL in Bath.
To take advantage of the offer just fill in the online booking form and we'll be in touch and sort the rest.
Note; the early booking discount doesn't apply to one day tours.

We have started blogging!

This week was a very special one for P and P Tours. We were asked to run a very special DOWNTON ABBEY tour for Australian TV network; Seven. Pictures and details to come - watch this space!