As we are both obsessed with Jane Austen and her novels, Jules and I thought we would hire a car and drive around Hampshire to the Jane Austen hotspots, except Bath as we have both been to her home there separately.We started in Chawton, where she lived with her sister and mother for eight years. It is now the Jane Austen House Museum. It was beautiful and the village is so sweet. The house is full of little mementos including a lock of Jane's hair and several of her letters to Cassandra (her sister).
After spending a few hours in the house and gardens, we drove along the little lanes to Farnham, a very pretty town full of cobbled lanes and flowers before heading to our B&B, Barford Cottage. The couple who owned this little medieval cottage were really lovely and Jane Austen lovers! They made us feel really welcome and let us look around their amazing home.
After a VERY peaceful night we ate our home cooked breakfast in a rather grand dining room before heading to Winchester to visit the cathedral where Jane is buried and the house she died in. The cathedral is stunning, the original sections date from 1079 which is pretty impressive.
After leaving Winchester we headed to Steventon, a tiny village in the middle of nowhere, where Jane grew up and lived for 25 years. Unfortunately the rectory where the family lived and ran a small school for boys has been demolished. The church however is still in full use. We were the only people there apart from a man from the village who was mowing the grass. It was without a doubt our favourite part of the trip. It was quiet and most of all it really felt like she had been there. There was an honesty box for some simple postcards, information leaflets and silhouette notecards which were the nicest of all the souvenirs we had seen .It was amazing to see all these places I have been picturing since I was 16 and I first saw Colin Firth strutting about on the BBC.
Photos
