Touching History

Today we went to Stamford, which is a small country town about an hour or so (by train) from Grantham.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day outside, and I got to wear shorts! (Finally!)  It was sunny and breezy and fantastic.  

The town had shopping festival/antique fair, but it cost 4 pounds to get in (about $7) so Brooke, Katie, and I opted to walk around the town and explore.  We ended up walking across town to find the Burghley House, the largest and grandest house left from Elizabethan England.  To get to the house, we had to walk through a huge park filled with deer, sheep, and cows.  In fact, the deer on the land have been living and breeding there for over 45o years.  Hunting deer is illegal in England, so there were tons and tons of them.  It would have been a Missouri hunter's dream!

We took a tour of the house, which was furnished and decorated as it would have been in the 18th century.  Even though it was built in the 1500s, it was redecorated to "keep up with the times" in the 17 and 1800s.  The rooms and the furniture were beautiful.  Many of the rooms had floor to ceiling murals that also covered the entire ceiling.   I have never seen anything like that up close.  Unfortunately, taking pictures wasn't allowed, but my friend snuck a few so I'll see if I can post them! :)  If you have seen the movie Pride and Prejudice (the new one that came out in 2005 with Keira Knightly), the outside of the Burghley House and several rooms inside the manor were used for Lady Dubourg's house.  I can't wait to watch the movie again and pick out the rooms I walked through!  Also, the owner of the house in the 1920s was a British Olympian in the 1928 and 1932 Olympics.  He won the gold in 400m hurdles in 1928 and the silver in the 4x400m relay in 1932.  The medals were on display, and I almost cried looking at them.  I wish I could have touched them!  In one of the bedrooms was a case containing a pair of gloves that Queen Victoria left when she visited Burghley House in 1844.  Being that close to history was absolutely incredible!  I wish I could have taken only a few pictures!

Tomorrow we head to Cambridge, and we are going to rent bikes and ride around town.  It should definitely be a unique and exciting experience!