The British Countryside

One of the things I absolutely love about England is her countryside, the gentle rolling green hills and the striking occasional tree that stands alone on a slope. Dotted along with white sheep and lambs at this time, and the puffs of white cloud in the blue sky (a rarity sometimes, but I have seen it). Sometimes I wish I can paint because the countryside would be what I’d want to paint. And my photo attempts at capturing the beauty of the countryside just do no justice to the real thing.

So my friend Christina and I went off to the Peak District for two days this week, visiting historic homes like Chatsworth and staying in a quaint village hotel called The Maynard. As we finally made it to our first stop, Chatsworth, we were both quite in awe of the beauty that surrounded us. When we drove upon the estate, we spot this rather large herd of deer! I had never seen so many deer together. It was too bad my camera couldn’t capture them very well, but that truly was a scene of British countryside that I shall not forget easily.

Upon entering the historic home, I easily slip into my imaginary world of Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice. In fact, this was the place that stood as Pemberley in the latest movie version of P&P. My heart still loves the BBC version best, but the new one was pretty good. There was even a movie exhibit inside Chatsworth, because the latest film to display this home was ‘The Duchess’.

I’ve always wondered what life would be like 200 years ago, living in such a surrounding and lifestyle. There certainly would not be any modern conveniences that I love now, like indoor plumbing and central heating. But there’s something intriguing about the lives people lived back then. A little simpler, in some ways, where people had their roles determined by class/status/female/male. Very elegant, I imagine, but a very hard life too.

So anyways, back to the countryside, did you know that back then, people feared travelling because of highway robbers and thieves? It just was not safe on the roads back then. And for that, I am thankful I can take my time on the roads now and just enjoy the peaceful nature and beautiful of the English countryside.