Jane Austen's "charms of Lyme..."

"... a very strange stranger it must be, who does not see charms in the immediate environs of Lyme, to make him wish to know it better." 

Persuasion

England 2015 Trip Journal
Tuesday, April 14

    We have certainly seen charms in the environs of Lyme and do wish to know it better – so, happily, Jane would not find us strange strangers. :)

     We had a beautiful drive through the Hampshire and Dorset countryside, making the two hours spent in the car go by very pleasantly. I can imagine that all of those green rolling hills we drove through are what the Dashwoods would have seen on their way to Barton in Sense and Sensibility. I could almost see Marianne going for a rainy walk on one of them!

The perfect hill for Marianne...

     Even though we arrived in Lyme after 1:00 there was still thick fog around the shore line. But in the last few hours it cleared up brilliantly! We parked in the Charmouth Street Car Park, which is a good size, along with having brilliant views when there isn't 200-foot visibility in the fog.

Walking through the streets of Lyme.
(Can't you just see the Musgroves, Captain Wentworth and Anne driving along to their inn?)

     The first thing we decided to do was to walk down through the town to the pebbly beach for lunch, seeing as we were hungry, and it was lunchtime. There was a festive holiday atmosphere by the shore, with kids from 2 to 102 eating ice cream from the several ice cream stands nearby and sitting on the beach. It was actually pleasant enough for most of them to shed their sweaters!

     While we were enjoying our sandwiches we were joined by a rather forward seagull. Mom kept throwing pebbles at him, but it didn't seem to perturb him in the least because he returned at least three times to screech at us for not sharing our lunch with him.

Lyme's foggy but festive seafront.

It was still a lovely day for a picnic!

     I had to walk down to the sea to "linger and gaze" as Anne Elliot does, and as Jane Austen did over 200 years ago. I have never heard a sound like the waves rolling over and over those pebbles, sending out thousands of little knocks all along the beach as they jostled together. It is musical; the perfect place to sit and think (or quote poetry with Captain Benwick).

"The party from Uppercross passing down by the now deserted and melancholy looking rooms, and still descending, soon found themselves on the sea-shore; and lingering only, as all must linger and gaze on a first return to the sea, who ever deserved to look on it at all..."

Persuasion

     We passed some houses along the shore in the cheerful colors typical of the festive English seaside resort: white, yellow, pink, blue and more, and two of them were cottages with names perfectly suited to Lyme: Harville Cottage and Benwick Cottage. I think Jane would smile. She wouldn't have expected the novel she wrote to be one of the claims to fame for this seaside resort that she came to visit for summer holidays.

     After passing the cottages we popped into an antique emporium on our way to the Cobb, and when we emerged the sun had dispersed the fog and was shining everywhere! The Cobb is something that must be experienced before one can appreciate its full value. As Jane points out, it is the views from the Cobb that are so beautiful – the Cobb itself was only built as a harbor defense in the middle ages – but we could see the cliffs "stretching out to the east of the town" and Charmouth across the sparkling bay. The view of the Cobb itself while you're standing on the Cobb are also what make it unique. One must walk along the top, admiring the way it curves left and then right, while the water quietly crashes against it.

Venturing out on the Cobb – somehow we managed not to be blown off.
The slope felt a bit precarious, though.

Selfies on the Cobb!

There's nothing like it!

Looking back along the Cobb.

Enjoying the sun and the sparkling sea.

     I loved looking toward the cheerful town with the water sparkling so brightly in front of it. The surface of the Cobb does slope slightly westward, which inclines one to stay toward the east edge from the irrational fear of being blown into the water (or in my case tripping and falling...). But the views quickly banish any fear, as well as the excitement you feel at walking where Jane herself, as well as Anne Elliot, once walked.

Lyme looking like a seaside town!

The scenery to the west of the Cobb.

The shoreline to the west of the Cobb, where the Austens may have taken lodgings in 1803 or 1804.

     At no point on this trip have I more wished that I was wearing Regency garb than when we were walking along the Cobb. Which brings me to Granny's Teeth. There is no way Louisa Musgrove could have run up those steps before leaping into Captain Wentworth's arms. I climbed them, and they are truly terrifying and utterly precarious. Believing Jane to be a practical person, my guess is that Louisa ran up a different set of steps, located nearest to the end of the Cobb. I tested those, too, and had no qualms about running up and down - I did not attempt leaping off of them, however. For one thing, I had no wish to risk breaking my head, and for another, there was no dashing Captain Wentworth to catch (or, rather, miss me).

The most likely candidate for the scene of Louisa Musgrove's leap.

The terrifying Granny's Teeth...
It feels that the slightest mis-step will make you slip and drop right to the ground.
Louisa would not have needed to jump to fall – a step would have done it.

     We spent the entire afternoon walking on the Cobb, but eventually we got hungry. Happily, we heard that the world's best fish and chips was back at the end of the Cobb! It's called Herbies. So we got in the enthusiastic (but of course this is England so orderly) line (queue, I should say) to request our treasure. It took a while, but at last we had it in our hands and made our way up the hill just behind us to the city garden to enjoy our dinner with a stunning view of the little bay. Oh, that fish was delicious! Just the perfect amount of crispy, greasy and flaky. 

     The park was pleasant, with lots of local plants and gravel walkways, and although I was on the lookout for the Jane Austen cement bust I'd heard about, it was nowhere to be seen. 

A bit of fish and chips by the sea.

Our view for dinner!

     The sun was looking low when we descended the hill in search of tea. We found some in a lovely pub on the shore near the Cobb, and we couldn't resist getting some scones with clotted cream and jam to have with it while we sat on the cheerful crowded seashore. I took the opportunity to write a couple of postcards and catch up on this blasted but beloved journal.

Having tea by the sea.

The Lyme seafront in the sunshine.

    After tea the Cobb was calling us irresistibly back for one last stroll. So we made our way down to the end of this medieval harbor defense to watch the waves crash quietly against the stone, with the gulls flying overhead and the sun setting behind the rocky cliff to the west. It was so peaceful and sad and beautiful - just like Jane's last masterpiece Persuasion.

Viewing a sunset from the Cobb.

One last stroll on the Cobb.

     As we walked back to our car the sky changed into the soft, gentle colors of dusk, and we lingered so long drinking in one last view of the bay that it was nearly dark when we left the timeless charms of Lyme. 

Lyme, it was an unforgettable day!

© Anna Morton 2017

Southampton: Jane Austen's Forgotten Home

| Jane Austen danced here! |

England 2015 Trip Journal
Monday, April 13

     We decided to enjoy some of Alresford before our trip was over, and we had more gorgeous weather, so we took a stroll down Broad Street and West Street. There was a charity shop literally a few houses down from our flat, and although it was rather smaller than the average charity shop I managed to find quite a treasure: a mug with 'Her Ladyship' on it! Having been given my title last year, it seemed like the perfect souvenir to buy myself. I'm rather excited to show it to the friends who so kindly bestowed my title on me. :) And it was only £2.50! For a second breakfast we popped into Heidi's Swiss Patisserie for tea and pastry – well, I got a jelly doughnut, to be absolutely precise. It was a cozy, clean place that seemed to be a favorite with the locals for sandwiches and coffee.

Looking down West Street in Alresford.

     We visited Southampton at last! We drove to Netley Abbey first, and parked in the Abbey Hall parking lot at the corner of Grange Rd. and Victoria Rd. right next to the recreation field (and it's free!). It was only a five minute walk from there up to the Abbey on Victoria Rd. There is a parking lot on the Abbey grounds which is also free, but it's quite small.

     It was truly exciting to know that we were actually standing where Jane Austen and her nephews had stood 108 years ago. When her 11- and 8-year old nephews Edward and George, her brother Edward's sons, came to stay with Jane and her mother in Southampton after their mother died, Jane was determined to look after them and cheer them if she could, so she devised a visit to the nearby Netley Abbey. For a day out from Southampton they crossed the River Itchen in the Itchen ferry, and then rowed themselves down the river to the Abbey.

     It is a ruin now and it was a ruin then. It's also still free to visit! It remains quite a perfect ruin, with ivy growing up the walls and great open church windows with sunlight streaming through. This is both a medieval and a Tudor ruin because Henry VIII gave it to a nobleman after dissolving the monasteries in 1536. He altered the grey stone of the Abbey with lots of the iconic Tudor red brick, some of which still remains.

The romantic arches of Netley Abbey – just the setting for a Gothic romance...

A large section of the Tudor brick.

  

     In the space that was once the chapel there are some carvings on the base of what was once a pillar commemorating King Henry III! (He was patron of the monastery during his reign from 1216-72.) There were hundreds of carvings all over every wall – mostly graffiti – but even graffiti gains importance after two hundred years (the "1811" I noticed scratched into the Chapter House was particularly exciting to me).

Graffiti is no new thing...

The iconic gothic chapel ruins.

  

  

A crown for King Henry III carved into the pillar base.

The only bit of Netley with a roof: the Chapter House.

     The Abbey is set in a beautiful spot, and I love to imagine Jane Austen and her nephews sitting under the great tree, walking about on the glowing green grass, and perhaps playing a game of hide and seek among the ruins. During our visit I observed that school must still be out because there was a group of boys being boys, running about and climbing up the Abbey – just like young Edward and George might have done. :)

There is even ivy growing in a pointed gothic window... Could there be a more perfect ruin?

 

     For lunch we sat in the Cricket field adjacent to where we'd parked that looks out over Southampton Water. We greatly enjoyed our tuna sandwiches as we gazed over the sparkling sea, imagining Jane, Edward and George rowing along the shore to the Abbey.

 

 

     Only a 12-minute drive up the road from Netley Abbey is Southampton, where Jane Austen lived for nearly three years of her life, from 1806 to 1809. She didn't do any novel writing here, that we know of – which could explain why people don't connect her with Southampton – but we do know that she was happy. She had escaped the confinement of Bath city life, and moved into a comfortable house with her mother, sister, friend and brother's family located right on the ocean with it's own garden.

     The city center of Southampton is unusual, dotted everywhere with fragments of the old city walls, and the buildings almost run into the water – they practically did back in Jane's time when the water used to come all the way up to the city wall. It would have been a pleasant place for the Austen ladies, being so near the freedom of the sea after being land-locked in Bath for six years.

 

     We found the place where the Austens lived in Castle Square, and although the original building has been demolished, there is now a pub on the site titled The Juniper Berry. There is just enough room behind it for the garden Jane talks of with such excitement in her letters. From among their raspberries and "lauburnam gold" they could have looked out over the ocean because the garden backed up right to the wall.

The Juniper Berry pub, once home to the Austen ladies. 

Behind the Juniper Berry, where the Austens kept a garden. 

     

     We parked in the lot on Castle Way between Albion Place and the Westquay Shopping Centre. To find the Austens' old home, just follow Albion Place, which turns into Forest View and runs right into The Juniper Berry. It is only about two blocks from The Dolphin Hotel where Jane used to attend assemblies. Just take Castle Lane to Castle Way, which leads straight to The Dolphin on High Street. It's all very conveniently close together!

     We popped into The Dolphin simply to check out their tourist info resources – or so I thought... It turned out to be much more exciting: an undercover stealth mission! Mom quietly called me to follow her up some back stairs, which was completely bewildering until I saw the sign directing us to the Jane Austen Suite. Then I guessed what she was up to. We went through a few doors, glancing around to make sure we remained unseen, and found a largish meeting room set up for dinner and covered with sky blue striped wallpaper, which Mom had somehow discovered was part of the room Jane would have danced in! We grabbed a few photos and videos before making our way back as stealthily as we had come. We were quite pleased with ourselves, and giggled with glee as we walked away down the street.

Before our covert mission into The Dolphin Hotel...

We found it! The room where Jane Austen danced in Southampton. 

     We then walked through the old town, following the Castle Square road near the Juniper Berry (which changes into Bugle St.) past the Tudor House and Garden, and down to the old wall (built in the 1200s), where we found the West Gate, the place where the troops in King Henry V's army had passed to disembark for Agincourt, as well as the spot where the Pilgrims had set sail for America. 

     I had to get Mom's picture with the monument marking the spot to go with her picture taken at Plymouth, Massachusetts, where the Pilgrims first landed. The wall led us at last to the waterfront, so we walked along for a bit like Jane Austen and her family had done before they set out on a little sailing expedition. Jane also would have taken this route all the way to the Itchen Ferry that she and her nephews took to reach Netley Abbey.

The monument to the Pilgrims in Southampton.

The West Gate: Henry V's troops walked past this stone...

A bit of info about Jane Austen on the Southampton walls.

     For dinner we settled on The Standing Order next door to The Dolphin Hotel. It is a Wetherspoon pub, which means that the prices will be quite decent, and that we may encounter a 2-for-1 meal deal like we did in Stratford and Selby. What made this pub quite perfect was the discovery of Jane Austen's portrait hung over a table. So you can guess where we sat.

Sitting under Southampton's most famous unknown resident.

     Perhaps the most memorable thing about sitting under Jane's portrait is the fact that our server didn't know that it was a portrait of Jane Austen. Mom told her we were sitting at the table next to Jane Austen's picture, and apparently she did not recognize the location of which Mom was speaking... It just goes to show you that even the people who live here have forgotten its Jane Austen connection.

     Now, it pains me ever to speak ill of English food, as it already has an unjustly negative reputation, but this is a story too good to keep to ourselves. It is not even a critique of English food, really, as it involves a tostada. You see, we had gotten a little homesick for Mexican food, which can be found in its gloriously authentic form on nearly every block in California, so we decided to diverge from our beloved British dishes on the menu to indulge in a taste of home. Well, it was not too different from what we know, except for the bar-b-que sauce. That was rather an unusual twist.

     Then it was time to return home to our lovely flat for some tea!



© Anna Morton 2017