A forty-five minute drive from our base near Curbar Edge, lies Lyme Hall. This vast (once sporting) Estate on the very edge of the Peaks was once home to the Legh Family, and is well looked after by the National Trust today. Used as a film/TV setting on many an occasion, it is probably most recognisable as Darcy’s Pemberley Hall in the BBC’s production of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice… In fact you should really try to visit this year to peer into the very same Reflection Lake as Mr Darcy and Miss Bennet themselves, as Lyme Hall marks the 200th anniversary of the year of the death of Jane Austen with plenty of Regency celebrations. More on that later, but now back to its most recent notable owner (also of Regency heritage) Thomas Legh…
You could probably write a fantastic blockbuster about Sir Thomas himself, he was the illegitimate son of Thomas Legh Senior and a maid after all – but a good few years after he inherited the Estate (at the age of five), he went on to use his vast wealth to travel the globe (Lyme Hall describes him as the Indiana Jones of his time!). His holiday souvenirs are very much in evidence dotted about the place, as are his travel diaries which are still kept at Lyme Hall today…
Obviously we took advantage of the opportunity to dress in Regency costume for a wander about the place (whilst Mr R enjoyed the grounds with the smallest member of our family as per the new family rules of my Eyam post!). Even the usually reluctant at dressing up Small Boy got in on the act (although he did moan that boys of the time must have been blinking cold wandering around just wearing a jacket – his star wars t-shirt was pleasantly “confiscated” by the lovely dressing room ladies for not being historical enough)!
I do love a place that encourages children to delve deeper into history, and it was fabulous to see a lot of grown ups getting in on the act too! I did try a hat on, but thankfully there’s no evidence as I am the photographer and all…
The Small People really enjoyed investigating the playroom (still in their costumes!), which is stocked with games and popular toys of the time, and exploring the vast long gallery on the top floor with the massive billiards table that you can actually play, not to mention the masses of ghost stories that kept them enthralled… Whilst Lyme is obviously gorgeous to visit in the Spring and Summer with its abundance of flower beds, walled gardens and manicured lawns, I wouldn’t necessarily want to be locked in at night. Do head to the Knight’s bedroom where the story of the skeleton discovered beneath the floorboards had us all shivering, and keep an eye out for the White Lady who is spotted quite often apparently…
You are not stuck for food choices here either, with a great choice in the Ale Hall in the cellar, and the little tea parlour which comes in very handy for makeshift picnic goods. We ate our picnic perched on top of a hill beneath the Cage Tower whilst surveying the beautiful scenery (and the deer!) below…
And for those of you with offspring less interested in the historical stuff, fear not – there’s the most fantastic playground – Crow Wood, set across the other side of the grounds (and complete with another great cafe!). Perfect blackmail material once the more serious house and garden inspection stuff is out of the way! You shouldn’t miss the tiny little nature playground tucked away to the side of the house closest to the Italian Gardens either, with it’s herb exploration beds, and trees that you are encouraged to climb!
We really loved the community feel about Lyme Hall. It really feels like it belongs to everyone, which is evident in the masses of families enjoying both the more manicured gardens, and the masses of moorland (around 1,400 acres to be precise!) in which to walk the dog. Throughout the year there are loads of non-history related things to join in with too, including nordic walks, forest schools and boot camps which makes it accessible to anyone and everyone. It’s worth setting aside a day for whilst you’re in the Peaks… Just keep an eye out for the White Lady!!
We had time to stop off off in Buxton on the way back, famous for its Spa Waters that date back to Roman times, and the well dressings that are displayed between May and September (there are actually plenty more festivals throughout the year here) each year (started as a collective thank you from Buxton residents when piped water was made available at the market place fountain).
Sadly the famous Spa baths shut their doors for good back in the Eighties, but this place is definitively worth a visit as there are so many ghosts of the past all over the place. I had fun exploring the Pavilion Gardens, and the many back streets with their glimpses into Victorian and Georgian life.
All this while the Small boy enjoyed yet another holiday haircut (I think he’s aiming for some kind of record boasting haircuts in Norway, Denmark, Italy, Japan, Greece, America, Germany, Budapest, Austria and a few other places!) before a fish and chips tea (food: another form of blackmail often used in our house!)…
What a lovely place to visit even more so in costume, you all look wonderful! x
Thanks Karen, it was fun! :D x
It looks fascinating (and I do love playing dressup!)! We were there last year and completely missed it somehow. We do tend to go to the Peaks a fair bit, so will make sure we go next time :)
Do go Maria, it’s really lovely! Thank you!
Now this looks fantastic! I love the idea of dressing up in period costume to walk around a house and they’ve gone a lot better than just producing hats and coats for you to wear. It certainly looks as I imagined Pemberley to look so I’d be happy to wander around just for that reason but clearly there’s loads more reasons to come here. I’m definitely saving for future visits up to Derbyshire.
It’s such a beautiful place Clare. Thank you!
It seems to be a fantastic place Emma.
Like have never come across Lyme hill but going through your article makes it feel quite spooky. Definitely will plan to visit this place soon.
Keep posting
Cheers :)
It’s really lovely! Thanks Aanchal :)
What a wonderful place to explore, and I love the fact that you can dress up too. A real experience.
Thank you MrsS!
Lyme Hall looks like a great place to visit. I love that you dressed in costume too! :)
Thanks so much Nikki!
We haven’t spent much time at Lyme Hall so need to go and do this – it’s not too far from us.
It’s always the way that you don’t visit the stuff on your doorstep so much! :D Thank you!
Lyme Hall looks lovely! We’re off to a NT place this weekend am I’m a bit nervous about it but this has helped me feel slightly less panicked about posh stuff + small kids ;)
I don’t know whether there’s been a massive shift, but they seem to be massively more child friendly than before we left the UK! Enjoy! :)
It looks like a really great place to visit and I love that you all got dressed up and really immersed yourselves. I have a dressing up phobic family!
Oh and if only I could get my boys to have their hairs cut so regularly – not even fish and chips will make them get it done!
Thanks Jen! I am not sure how much longer I will be able to get the Small Boy to agree to such things! :D
Really interesting and so can’t believe R didn’t knock anything off with that umbrella :) x
I did wonder whether it was a good idea when the lady handed it to her, but thankfully nothing untoward happened! xx
Oh my goodness I would absolutely love this, the idea of dressing up to walk round to totally embrace the surroundings should be mandatory everywhere in my opinion ;) But seriously, I think this is just a great way of getting them to understand how it actually was back in the day and it looks like a beautiful hall.
I think it’s a brilliant way to get children to imagine what life was like back then. Thank you! :)
You’re right – it would be a sppoky place to have to spend the night! But impressive that there’s such a community feel, given that it’s such a big, grand-looking place. I’d like to visit some time.
I love it when places like this truly have something for everyone! Thanks Nell! :)
I’d love to visit Lyme Hall, it looks fantastic and I love all the ghost stories. It’s wonderful that you had your kids dress up in costume, the photos are brilliant!!
Thanks so much Anne! :)
How wonderful that you can dress up as well. I love stately homes.
That really added to the experience. I am so used to this kind of thing in Scandinavia especially, but it’s really nice to see England doing this kind of thing too more and more! :)
What a neat experience! It’s nice that they have clothes for you to dress up in and so many different activities to do.
Is this the type of thing you would have always done at home or do you think you’re more likely to seek out fun places to visit after living abroad? I was definitely more of a tourist in my hometown after the experience of exploring a new city in a new country.
Thanks Marina, that’s a really interesting question. I think we may have done this kind of thing before, but my two older children are on a mission to see as much as they can of England. I think they missed it. Plus they are probably thinking we might tell them we are going abroad again soon! :D
It’s cool that they want to explore where they’re from! Smart kids.
Thanks Marina! :)