Mumsy and Guvna take on Europe: A 2016 Europe Trip Report! updated 5/29/2017

After exploring the house, we went into the Orangery where they have the gift shop.

Amazingly I didn't get anything there.

Then we walked the grounds for a while.

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This house was truly amazing to see.

I told my mom that it didn't feel like a home, though.

It really did feel like a museum. You can tell that the family, through the years, have really loved art in all of its forms. I found it hard to believe that they still live there. But they do.

After exploring the grounds, we stopped in at one of the little cafe's and got chicken pasty's and chips.

They were really good.

We sat in the car and ate while looking at the surrounding scenery and then drove off taking a few more pictures as we went.

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Next up: Arriving at our cottage in the Cotswolds​
 
When planning the trip I knew that we wanted to stay somewhere in the Cotswolds for a few days.

We would be driving around to a lot of places but we wanted somewhere we could call "home" for a while.

I had my heart set on a thatched cottage but as we went through a ton of different cottages we kept going back to this one.

It was in a village that I loved the name of- Chipping Campden.

And here we would have our own bedrooms as well as the fact that while it had amazing reviews it was one of the cheaper options.

We finally decided to go with Little Campden House.



When we left Chatsworth we drove south to Chipping Campden and found our little home.

It has a private parking spot in the back/side. I was really worried before arrival because I was told it was a small space surrounded by rock walls and I might want to get passengers out before pulling in.

I imagined me running into the sides with the rental car.

But when we got there I was actually so pleasantly surprised.

Compared to a lot of the places that I had parked up to this point, this was positively roomy.

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After parking and getting all of our bags out, we walked around the wall and to the front door.

We were given a code to a key box so we were able to get in right away.

I loved the look of it.

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When you go in, there is a little foyer and the stairs leading up to the bedrooms.

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The kitchen opens up to the walled in courtyard with tables and a shed.
It didn't end up being the best weather to spend a lot of time out there when we had time.. but it was still fun to look at!

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As soon as we were settled in we made some sandwiches for dinner and watched part of one of the movies they had in the cottage- Nights in Rodanthe.

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We felt so at home and relaxed. It was great.

Next up: Oxford!
 
When I was planning our trip I was making a list of things I really wanted to see in each city we would visit. I knew that when we visited Oxford I just had to see the Queen's College Library.

But I couldn't find anything about visiting it online.

I emailed the library and asked about visiting and touring the library.

I received an email back from a woman at the library saying that they didn't usually offer tours of the library but that if I could be there at a certain time she would have someone there that could let us in.

Ahhh!

I was so excited.

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So, on Wednesday, April 13th we woke up pretty early, had some provided cereal at our cottage for breakfast (I forgot to mention there was a basket with some bread, milk, eggs, and cereal waiting for us in the cottage upon arrival!) and got ready.

We drove to a park and ride just outside of the main part of Oxford and got right onto a bus into the city center.

This time we did not make the mistake of not knowing where to get the bus at the end of our day.

We asked the bus driver where we should get the bus going back and I took a picture of it!



Once we got off of the bus we walked to Queen's College. It wasn't too long of a walk, less than five minutes I think.

The college is beautiful and we were so excited we could hardly contain ourselves.

We checked in with security and they radioed to the library to let them know we were there. They had our names at the security booth so they knew we were legit.

Then he told us how to get to the library.

Once there the woman gave us some instructions on walking through the working part of the library quietly because students were studying there (it is beneath the one we were going to tour) and then she let us in.

We walked through the newer library and then went up a spiral staircase to get to the old library.

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I had to take a picture of the staircase when we got to the top.

I cannot fully describe the feeling of reaching the top of those stairs and seeing this:

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It was even more beautiful than I imagined.
It was completely quiet. We were the ONLY ones there.

They had a few of Shakespeare's plays under glass right when we walked in.

The copy of Shakespeare First Folio, the Catholicon, is the only book in any Oxford College from Gutenberg's workshop.

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They were right under a small wooden statuette of Queen Phillipa
This statue dates probably from the 16th century as there are accounts of it being repaired in the early 17th century. It was modeled after the Queen's effigy in Westminster Abbey which was modeled from life. The statue went missing in the 19th century and was later recovered by members of the College from a garden in Godstow.
The College was founded in Phillipa's name by her Chaplain Robert Eglesfield in 1341.

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I think we stood at the end of the library for a good while just staring.
Warning: There will be picture overload. I just can't decide which pictures to post!

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This was such an amazing experience. They might have had to drag us out if we didn't have a tour appointment at another college to get to.
I will never forget what it felt like to stand in this library.

Next up: more Oxford!
 


After our tour of Queen's College Library we walked to the Bodleian where we had an upcoming tour.

As we left the library I had to take pictures of Queen's on our way out...

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Gorgeous.
The walk wasn't very long and it was so enjoyable.
The vibe in Oxford is amazing.
All of the buildings are beautiful and you can feel the history everywhere.
As we walked along we found a red phone booth and had to stop.

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We walked around the Radcliffe Camera... we will be going there later!

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We saw the Bridge of Sighs.

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Just look at these buildings!

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We checked in at the Bodleian but we were early so we followed the advice of the girl working there and walked across the street to the Weston Library to check out the gift shop and the Bodleian Treasures free exhibit.

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These are just a FEW of the things we were able to see....

Original drawing by J.R.R Tolkien for The Hobbit and a map of Narnia drawn by C.S. Lewis:

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Draft of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein:

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The oldest surviving manuscript (besides papyrus fragments) of half of Plato's dialogues Phaedo, also known as On The Soul.

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The original engrossments of the 1217 issue of the Great Charter, The Magna Carter, sent by royal chancery to Oxfordshire.

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A Gutenberg Bible- one of only 7 complete copies in the British Isles.

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There were so many other things that I didn't get a picture of. It was such a cool thing to be able to see all of these things and especially for free!

Now it was time for our tour!
 
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We set up our tour with the Bodleian Library a few weeks in advance, as soon as it would let me do it online. We signed up for the standard tour, an hour long tour that was just eight pounds each. It would take us through the Divinity School, the Radcliffe Camera, and the Duke Humphrey's medieval library.

Our tour guide Gillian was fantastic.

She had so much energy and made it so interesting.



The Bodleian was the first library of Oxford University.

It is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It was first built in the 1300's in the University of St. Mary the Virgin in a room which still exists as a meeting room for the church.



Duke Humfrey was the Duke of Gloucester and younger brother of King Henry the 5th.

He gave the University his collection of over 281 priceless manuscripts.

They built a new library over the new Divinity school for them. It opened in 1488.



The library only lasted 60 years as the Dean of Christ Church wanting to purge the traces of Catholicism removed the books, some to be burnt, in 1550.



Sir Thomas Bodley rescued the library.

He was a Fellow of Merton College and a diplomat in the court of Queen Elizabeth the first.



In 1598 the old library was refurnished and given 2,500 books, some from Bodley, and it opened in 1602. In 1610 Bodley was able to come to an agreement with the Stationers' Company of London and this meant that a copy of every book published in England and registered through them would be given to the new library.

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The tour started in the Divinity School which you might recognize from the Harry Potter movies as the Infirmary.
The Divinity School is a medieval building built between 1427-1483. It is the oldest surviving building purpose-built for university use for lectures, oral exams, and discussions on theology.
It isn't used for this anymore. It is just under the Duke Humfrey Library.

She told us about the origins of the libraries while in this room where she could speak loudly.
We were given headsets to wear for the rest of the tour.

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"Dumbledore's door"

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We walked across the courtyard to the Radcliffe Camera.
It was Britain's first circular library.
In the early 18th centuries there began to be more libraries built in Oxford.
John Radcliffe left his trustees a lot of money in which to buy some land, pay a librarian, and purchase books for a new circular domed building.
It was built between 1737 and 1748 and opened in 1749. It was independent of the Bodleian for many years and called the Radcliffe Library. But it was eventually taken over by the Bodleian and renamed the Radcliffe Camera (which means room in Latin).
She told us about it before going in as she couldn't speak out loud while in there.
The library was full of students studying.
We couldn't take pictures either.
She had to unlock it for us to go in and then lock it behind us. All the students studying also had to do this.

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We then toured the Duke Humfrey library.
It was amazing.
She told us about it quietly through our headsets as we were able to stand inside the entrance to it.
The books were not lent to readers, even King Charles the first was refused when asked to borrow a book in 1645.
The books used to be chained to the shelves and we were able to see that as they still had a few chained for display.
The users in the library have to tell the librarian what they want and they will bring it to their table.
This library was also used in the Harry Potter movies as their library.
We couldn't take pictures in here either.

This was a fantastic tour and we loved every minute of it.
 
After our tour we walked through town to our next destination:



The Eagle and Child

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I love C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and have been fascinated by the group they were a part of,
the Inklings, for a long time.
For as long as I can remember I have wanted to go to Oxford to walk where they walked and to visit The Eagle and Child where they famously went to discuss their literary projects with each other.
They called it "The Bird and Baby".

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It was beyond exciting to walk up to this pub and see it with my own eyes!
It was a really cozy pub.
We walked up to the bar but were told they were not serving lunch yet today.
Their kitchen was opening late.
But she told us we could order drinks and hang around until the kitchen opened so that is what we did.
We ordered some Diet Cokes and then walked around looking at the memorabilia.

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We found a table in the back room and sat down to enjoy our Diet Coke and some chocolate that my mom bought at the Bodleian library gift shop.

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The menu:

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Soon the girl from the bar came back to tell us that we could come order now.
As I walked up I decided to take a picture of the bar where you order.

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We went with their traditional fish and chips.
I am not a seafood fan but I had to try fish and chips in England.
It was HUGE!

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Unlike me, my mom loves seafood.

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I was pleasantly surprised. It was really good.
We really enjoyed relaxing, talking about the Inklings and about the things we had already done in Oxford, and of course playing with the salt and pepper shakers that reminded us of Daleks (from Doctor Who).

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It still is one of my favorite dining experiences of the entire trip.

Next up: Christ Church College

 


After lunch we walked to Christ Church College.

Christ Church is a joint College and Cathedral. It is one of the largest of the Oxford colleges.

Christ Church was founded in 1525 by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and originally called Cardinal College. The Cardinal lost favor with King Henry the 8th after refusing to support his marriage to Anne Boleyn and Henry re-founded the college in 1532 as King Henry the 8th's College. It was renamed Christ Church in 1546.



We approached it through the Christ Church Meadow which was beautiful.

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Mr. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, known more widely as Lewis Carroll, was a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church when he met Alice Liddell. Alice was ten years old and the daughter of Henry Liddell, the Dean of Christ Church.
From his office he could see Alice and her siblings playing and a locked wooden door that went into a garden they weren't allowed to enter. Her real attempts at trying to get in through this door inspired the beginnings of Alice in Wonderland.

After he made friends with the Liddell family, he would often take the children on boat rides. In 1864 he told them the story of Alice for the first time.

At the real Alice's request he recorded the story and added illustrations, which he then gave to her for a Christmas gift that year.

He was encouraged to get the book published and he eventually did so under the new pen name.



Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) lived at Christ Church from 1851 until his death at age 65 in 1898.

Alice lived there from age 3 until she was married in 1880.

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We entered through the meadow building that was built in 1863.

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The Cloister is part of the original Priory of St Frideswide that was here before the college was built.
The olive tree (symbol of peace) and the fountain are modern additions.
The inscriptions around the olive tree is from the Book of Revelation:

"The leaves of the tree are for the healing of nations."

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From the Cloister we entered the Hall area and saw the Hall staircase, famously used in the Harry Potter films.

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We wanted to see the dining hall that was used as the Great Hall in Harry Potter but it wasn't open at the moment so we needed to do something else for about twenty minutes.
We walked out into Tom Quad.
It is named after the six ton bell, Great Tom, which hangs in Sir Christopher Wren's Tom Tower. It was named for Sir Christopher Wren the architect of the tower and former student.
At 9pm each night the bell chimes 101 times to represent the 101 original Christ Church students.

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From there we made our way into the Christ Church Cathedral.
This is a 12th century church and one of the oldest buildings in Oxford. It was originally built by Augustinian monks as a monastery church. It became the college chapel when Cardinal Wolsey founded the college.
It is the only building in the world to be both a Cathedral and a college chapel.
King Charles the first worshiped here during the English Civil war in 1642-1646 as he lived at Christ Church during this time.

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After walking through the Cathedral we made our way back to the Hall Staircase.

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We went up the stairs to the Hall.
This ceiling. Amazing

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This was used as the Great Hall in the first Harry Potter movies.
We couldn't go in and walk around as they were preparing for a gala but we did get to stand in the entrance and look around.
I asked a guide where the Alice window was and he said it was down to the left at the end so unfortunately we couldn't see it.

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He did point out the picture right by us of Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll).

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Then we began to make our way to the gift shop and then the exit.

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We hurried across the street to Alice's Shop.
Alice Liddell used to come to this shop to buy sweets.
It also inspired the Old Sheep Shop in Alice through the Looking Glass.

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After doing a bit more shopping we walked back toward our bus stop and made it just in time for a bus that was leaving for our car park.
I wish we could have stayed longer. I would love to spend a few days just at Oxford.
I loved everything about this place.
Next up: Stratford-upon-Avon to look for Shakespeare

 
We really wanted to try to get to Stratford-Upon-Avon this day so that we could have a day off on Friday so as soon as we got back to our car I called the desk at Shakespeare's birthplace. I asked them if they were open only until five or if you were already there at 5 if you could still get in and tour. They told me that as long as we were there by five we would be let in.
So we rushed.

We drove to Stratford and found a car park.

The town center was really pretty around the river. We put the address into my phone but it was confused and took us a way that I thought was wrong...

We finally were going up this road and were so lost. We asked a passing biker if he knew where it was and he gave us some directions. We followed those.

Then we got to a corner and couldn't see it so we asked a girl that walked by and she told us where to go.

We ran to the front door and got in to the visitor's center and to the desk right at five.

We bought our tickets and walked over to the main house.

At first I wished that we had decided to do this another day so we could have explored Oxford some more...but actually it was pretty cool to have the entire place to ourselves.

We were the only tourists here.

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We met a costumed guide as we entered the house and she led us through telling us stories of Shakespeare's family.

Shakespeare was born here in 1564 and lived here throughout his childhood.

The home has been restored to look the way it would have looked when his family lived here.

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It was really interesting touring the home.
When we were done we went out into the courtyard on our way to the gift shop and exit.
This actor was out there and asked us if we would like to have him do a scene for us.
He asked us what our favorite plays were and then he did two scenes.

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e visited the gift shop and then exited through the front.
Shakespeare's birthplace...

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We walked back down through town.

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Then we drove 'home'.
The drive was not very long- about twenty minutes but the roads were stressing me out.
Again, they were small ones that had a fast speed and you couldn't really see far. But what made it worse was that there were signs saying how dangerous the road was and how many deaths had been on it so far this year. That kind of freaked me out!
But we made it safe and sound.
When we got back to our cottage we took a walk down the street to the One Stop and got some easy food to make for dinner.

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My mom made some pizzas and we finished watching the movie from the night before.
It was a nice evening.
The funniest thing was when we were watching the movie, the character that Richard Gere plays was shown driving his car from above. We both panicked and said he was driving on the wrong side!
So I guess by this time we were used to the left side driving.

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I got a few souvenirs this day!
In Oxford I got some postcards of the Duke Humfrey's library and Radcliffe Camera, an Oxford keychain to use as a Christmas ornament, a little library sign that says 'Silence Please', some bookmarks that show different sections from Duke Humfrey's library, a copy of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, and two little Union Jack notebooks for Abi and Maddy.

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At Shakespeare's birthplace I got a leather bookmark and a copy of Much Ado About Nothing.

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We started out Thursday, April 14th by having breakfast in our cottage before heading out on a long drive.

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I bought our tickets to do the Warner Bros. Making of Harry Potter Studio tour months in advance.

I was able to get them for this day so we had to do a couple hour drive south to visit it.

It worked out just fine as we were able to drive north again using a different route to see some of the small villages we wanted to see.



We were so excited when we pulled up to this place!

We were doing one of the earliest tour times but it was packed.

I imagine that it must stay insanely packed all day every day of the year.

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alking into the lobby we showed them our tickets and you immediately begin to see props from the movies all around you.

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We were soon ushered into a movie theater and sat down for a short presentation.
Then they took us to the door.
THE door.

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This took us into the Great Hall used in the last movies.
It was full of props and costumes.

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We then entered the next big warehouse room.
They had the sets all around the space broken up into themes of props and costumes.

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After finishing up the main rooms, we were able to go out onto Platform 9 and 3/4...

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We were able to go on part of it.

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The first part of the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour ended by funneling us all into the cafeteria area.

It was lunchtime by now anyway so we were glad to take a break.

We grabbed some hot dogs. Mom's with onions, mine without.

We got some chips and of course, butterbeer!

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We sat and enjoyed the view of the outside sets while we ate and then as soon as we were done we went out there.

The Dursley House

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Then it was time to go back inside to a different section.

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Then into Diagon Alley...

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The model of Hogwarts was huge.
As you walk around the room it changes colors.

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The wands in wand boxes with the names of all the actors.

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It was then that we entered the large and crowded gift shop.
I was a bit disappointed that they didn't have a few things I wanted to get- like a Hedwig stuffed animal that wasn't a huge puppet. I promised Maddy I would bring her one.
But I did get a few things.

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I got the Hogwarts Crest and Hogwarts Express Christmas ornaments, a copy of Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone so we could have at least one of the British versions.
And for the girls I got each of them a Chocolate Frog.

Next up: Some small towns and more Harry Potter filming locations
 
After leaving the Harry Potter studio tour we drove west toward the little town of Lacock.

We parked in the car park and then walked the lovely trail through the woods to the visitor center.

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The Lacock Abbey and Fox Talbot museum would be closing soon so we paid our entry fees and then quickly walked there from the visitor's center.

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Lacock Abbey was founded in the early 13th century by Ela, Countess of Salisbury, as a nunnery.

It remained a nunnery until the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century.

Then it was the home for nobility and was fortified by the Royalists during the English Civil War.

During the 19th century it became the home of William Henry Fox Talbot.
The museum celebrates William. 175 years ago he announced the invention of the photographic negative. The tiny image was of a window at Lacock Abbey. It formed the basic technique of photography.

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It was really cool to walk through the Abbey learning about the history of the nunnery and the residents that have lived here throughout the years from the workers.
I love the National Trust properties. Everyone that we came in contact with that worked at one of them knew so much and always seemed so happy to be there.

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I looked out this window to take a picture of the courtyard just in time to see a black and white cat walk by. It didn't show up in the picture but I was excited to see it. Yes, I get weirdly happy when I see cats.

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After the Abbey was sold during the Dissolution in was bought by Sir William Sharington, a Renaissance adventurer.
He was the one that had the convent church demolished except for its north wall which he kept to from the south wall of his home. He built an octagonal tower at the eastern end of the Abbey which is now called Sharington's Tower.
We went up the staircase to the tower.
It was built in an Italian style after William Sharington was impressed with Italian architecture on a visit to Rome during Henry the 8th's reign. It is believed that he had the task of trying to persuade the Pope to sanction Henry's divorce from Katherine of Aragon.
The Sharington's kept their most precious items in this room as it was used as a strong hold and had locking cupboards.
In the center of the room is a stone table.
The table and the room are decorated by scorpions, a family icon, and leering satyr figures.

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In 1225, King Henry the 3rd had the Magna Carta re-drawn and a copy was given to the Sheriff of Wiltshire. He was the husband of Ela so the copy was kept in the abbey. It was then held by Sir William Sharington while he lived here. It was kept in the Abbey with it's residents until it was given to the British Museum in 1946.
A replica of the document is in the Tower Room on the stone table.

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We exited the last room, the big hall, out onto a large staircase to the grounds.

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Then we entered what is left of the nunnery buildings and the Cloisters.

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A lot of Harry Potter was filmed here.



The Sacristy:

It dates from the 13th century.

This was used as Professor Snape's classroom.

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The Chapter House.

It was the place of business for the abbey.

The Chapter House is the room where the Mirror of Erised was kept.

It was also used as a study hall.

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The tile floor was 19th century but they had this original tile displayed.

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We walked down the South Walk.
The abbey church used to be next to this walk. There is now a modern terrace door taking the place of the former processional doorways.
This was used in the filming of Harry Potter as well.
It was used as corridors for Hogwarts and you can spot it in many of the scenes!
This is where Harry exited Professor Lockhart's classroom and first heard the Basilisk and where Harry was picked for the Quidditch team.

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The Warming room was used as Professor Quirrell's classroom.
The cauldron is not from Harry Potter. It is called the Mechlin pot. It dates from about 1500 and was used as a cooking pot for the nuns.

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This was also used as a location in the filming of the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice.
Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy can be seen finding Wickham behind that door and walking down this hallway in his cap and gown.

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They have also been used in the new Hollow Crown and many other things. It is fun to look for these locations in the movies!

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After exiting the nunnery areas we walked back through the grounds.

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And I found the cat!
I sat next to it on the bench and it climbed into my lap and we sat content like that with me petting it and it purring while we waited for my mom as she used the restroom.

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Then we walked back through the grounds to go to Lacock village.

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Lacock village is a very popular filming location!
They simply remove all the cars and cover the road with dirt and it makes the perfect spot for filming.
It was used in Pride and Prejudice, Cranford, Downton Abbey and Harry Potter.
If you look closely you will see the buildings used as storefronts in Cranford, Mereton in P&P, the location of the cattle market in Downton, and some of the locations for Godric's Hollow and Budleigh Babberton.

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We popped into the little shop and bought some soda and Hobnobs for the drive.

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After walking around Lacock village we went back to the car and made our way north through many little Cotswold villages on the way to our next stop.
I made my mom take some pictures occasionally.

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Every time we came to a curve like this I would just be praying no one would come around fast from the other side!

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Next up: Castle Combe
 
After leaving Lacock we drove to Castle Combe.

We drove to the nearby car park first and took a while trying to figure out where we went from there. We finally figured out that we were supposed to walk down some stairs onto a road and then walk up the road from there. But we got down to the road and it was small and curvy and a car shot by going fast and we became afraid for our lives.

So we went back to the car and decided to drive down closer to try to figure out what the town was like.

We drove right through the town and noticed there were cars parked up the hill before we got to it. So we went back and parked roadside just up the street from the town instead.

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There was a trail through the woods so we took that instead of the road and it came out right by the center of the town.
This town is beautiful. Charm at its finest.

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I was excited to visit Castle Combe as I had read a lot about it and how pretty it is.
Also, it was my mother in law's favorite village.
And there were some films made here as well.
They filmed the 1967 Dr. Dolittle that I watched as a kid here. It was also the location for Stardust and War Horse, two films that I love.
They also have filmed some episodes of television shows here. I recently watched and loved Doctor Thorne and it was fun to see this village as the backdrop of many scenes.
The town is centered on the 14th century market cross (in the picture above) with an old water pump beside it.

Looking down the road from near the Market Cross...

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We first went over to St. Andrew's Church. It is a 12th century church in the heart of town.

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The church was small but very pretty inside.
It housed a 15th century faceless clock that is one of the oldest working clocks in England.

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There was also a Norman monument to the Knight Sir Walter de Dunstanville, the Baron of Castle Combe. He died in 1270.
His legs are crossed to indicate that he fought in the Crusades and he has his feet on a lion and a sword in his hands which lets us know that he died in battle.

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After exploring the church, we began to walk down the main road.

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After passing the bridge we stopped by the old weavers' cottages to get the iconic view of Castle Combe.

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Then we walked back up the hill.
It was unfortunately too late to really do much else here but we really enjoyed just walking through the village and seeing the church.

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We drove north toward our town going through so many adorable little villages along the way.

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It was starting to get dark and stormy and we really wanted to get home before it was completely dark so we only pulled over by Bibury to get a picture.

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And we kept driving...

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It did get dark before we got home and started raining like crazy. It turned out to be about 15-20 minutes of pretty scary driving but we made it back safely and were so glad to be back home in our little cottage. We made some nachos and started watching the 1995 Pride and Prejudice.
 
Friday, April 15th was our "rest day".

It was the one day we didn't plan any huge activities so we could feel free to sleep in, hang around our cottage, explore our town, and do whatever else we felt like doing.

I had done laundry a few days before so my things had been hanging up drying already but my mom hadn't done hers yet.

So this morning we slept in, had some cereal for breakfast, and she did her laundry.

After it was done washing she hung it to dry and we went out on a walk through town.

We started down High street stopping along the way in some of the shops.

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It was lightly raining and a lovely walk.

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We went quite a long way down High Street and then turned around and came back down High Street on the other side of the road, stopping for a minute at The Market Hall.

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We made our way down to the Cotswold way as I really wanted to walk at least part of it.

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I loved looking at all the buildings, homes, and gardens.

We found one of the cottages we had considered staying in. It was so cute!

Hoo Cottage-

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After our walk we went back to our cottage and had a simple peanut butter sandwich and chips lunch.
My mom's clothes weren't dry at all and we started to worry that they wouldn't be dry in time for check out the next morning.

We decided to go looking for a laundromat to dry her clothes.
We went in search of one I found online but it wasn't there when we got to the area.
We stopped at a little farm stand store to ask the owner if they knew of anywhere.

He told my mom where one would be and we went looking but ended up all the way in Stratford and never found one.
Finally we gave up and went back to the cottage.

Mom came up with the idea to hang her clothes next to the oven and the fireplace.

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We let them dry like that for a while and then we went out on another walk.
I really wanted to walk through the neighborhood.
I took this picture to show the sign into our parking area.
We were in Coldicott's Close..

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The neighborhood was heavenly.

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My favorite cats are orange ones.
I spotted this guy and called it to me. It came over to me but then gave me this snarky look as it walked right on by.
That's a first.

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I am obsessed with thatched roof houses. They are so amazing.
I found a lot of them on this walk.

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I fell in love with this one. I want to live there!

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Most of them had cute statues on the top of the roof. This one was my favorite...

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Walking up to the back of our house...

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"Home Sweet Home"

I bought one thing in town- this card.
It was so cute and made by a local artist.
There were quite a few things I wish I would have bought in town now that I am not there anymore but I am glad I got this card as I was able to give it to my sister in law- she and her husband are beekeepers.

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My mom set her clothes back up by the fireplace as soon as we got back and it actually worked! Her clothes began to dry finally.
We had nachos again and watched more Pride and Prejudice.
Then we packed up as we would be leaving our cottage early the next day.
 
Chatsworth is beautiful!

Your cottage in Chipping Campden is so cute! Must've been so cozy and fun to stay there.

The library at Queens College looks amazing!

The fish and chips at The Eagle and Child look so yummy.

The Harry Potter tour looks and sounds so great, glad you enjoyed that!

Your rest day sounds like it was lovely! Must have been nice getting to explore the town and just walk around!
 
Chatsworth is beautiful!

Your cottage in Chipping Campden is so cute! Must've been so cozy and fun to stay there.

The library at Queens College looks amazing!

The fish and chips at The Eagle and Child look so yummy.

The Harry Potter tour looks and sounds so great, glad you enjoyed that!

Your rest day sounds like it was lovely! Must have been nice getting to explore the town and just walk around!

Yes! I would love to go back to the cottage again! If I ever go to England again I will be spending more time in Oxford. It was one of my very favorite places!
 

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