I had trouble getting to sleep last night so I ended up listening to John Scalzi’s Starter Villain while I was going to sleep. Not a good choice because then I wanted to stay up listening to the book! I woke up at 5:45 before my alarm went off and, not wanting a repeat of yesterday, I went ahead and got up and got ready.
I went downstairs at 7:30 and my London cab arrived promptly at 7:45 to take me over to the Enterprise Car Rental under/behind Waterloo Train Station. We arrived right at 8 am when they opened, and I only then discovered that I had made the rental for 9 am. D’oh!
The guys got me set up and asked if I would be okay with an electric vehicle. After a lot of encouragement that the UK had chargers everywhere, I agreed and they got me settled into a red Vauxhall Mokka-e, a fully electrified SUV. It also meant that I didn’t have to pay the 20 pound London congestion charge for driving (for 20 minutes) in London. I loaded up the car, programmed Jane Austen’s house in Chawton into the GPS and set off.
Zero curbs hit, but I may have accidentally run a red light when (mercifully) no one was in the entire intersection. London is confusing (!!!) and dealing with a new SatNav is just added chaos. I made a couple of wrong turns but I was out of town in no time and on my way. I learned my lesson from Scotland and I payed close attention to where I was in the lane at all times.
First stop of the day was Chawton, an idyllic village where Jane lived for most of her life. The house is closed Sunday-Tuesday this time of year so I couldn’t make the timing work out to go in, but the house and garden are exactly what you would expect.
Just a small little house where Jane wrote six groundbreaking novels.
I didn’t stick around long because I wanted to stop by Winchester Cathedral next, which is where Jane is buried. I decided to stop by a charging station on the way, but it wasn’t working. All well, onwards to Winchester! I decided to stop and park where there was a EV plug in so the car could charge while I was in the cathedral, but after hunting around where it was supposed to be located, I gave up and parked the car on the street and walked through Winchester to the Cathedral.
Winchester is a cute little down with very walkable streets and cobblestone roads, and it took no time to get to the cathedral.
It’s about half the size of the National Cathedral in DC and it’s nestled amongst all the houses and has a huge green lawn where folks were picnicking, just like they do across the street at home.
I went inside and found Jane’s brass plaque as well as the stone where she is buried. She had originally been buried with a nondescript epitaph but in 1900 donors were able to purchase a beautifully made brass plaque in her honor. It was very special and touching.
Jane’s bronze plaque and her original headstone.
Right next to Jane were a series of Nixons. No joke. Several.
Seems we left some folk in the UK when the rest of us fled. Go figure!
I walked back to the car and did some serious navigating. I needed to find a fast charging station on the way to the next stop as well as food. Imperative. I hadn’t eaten all day. I mapped everything out and set off down the road a short ways and located an operational charging station.
I got a little confused at first but the guys that were leaving the fast charging terminal next to me explained, and I got it sorted out and started charging.
My cute red car and the manic happiness of finding electricity at last.
I left the car to juice up and went to find some lunch while I waited. The UK has these great car stops where there are a couple of restaurants, restrooms, a convenience store, and at least one gas station. Perfect for making a stop and stretching your legs.
After I finished lunch I checked on the car and it was almost fully charged! I snuggled up in the car for a few minutes (windy out!) and when we got to 100% I unplugged and headed to my next stop, Stonehenge!
It was about half an hour away and I got to drive through fields of golden rapeseed blooming and fluffy white sheep dotted in the bright green fields.
Stonehenge is located a ways back from the the road and even farther than the visitor’s center so after I went through the exhibit I took the tram up to the henge.
The combination of the sky and the grass made it look even more unreal.
After I got back to the visitor’s center I hopped back into the car and started the rest of the drive down to Lyme. The highway quickly turned into 30 mph 1.5 lane country roads boardered by hedgerows. It was…something. I made it through without damaging myself, the car, or anyone else and located the car park next to the Lyme Townhouse, a little before 5 pm.
I got the car charging up and took my bags down the hill to the Townhouse, which is extremely adorable.
It had a huge bed and the old fashioned key is just charming.
I wanted to go see The Cobb before it got dark so I started down the pathway to the shore, many many many feet below. The Cobb is essentially a stone seawall that protects the harbor much in the way a natural peninsula would, but The Cobb is mostly man made. It plays a very important part in the turning point of Persuasion, and I can imagine Jane watching girls hopping around these terrifying stone embankments as she wrote about Louisa and Captain Wentworth.
I walked on the beach and climbed up to the top of The Cobb, which was terrifying with the strong winds. But got the courage to climb down the steps that Louisa Muskgrove jumped off of.
All I can say, is that that the girl must have had a death wish… SO SCARY.
I had spotted a cute pub by the harbor on the way down and I stopped by The Cobb Arms on the way back, to get dinner. Dorsey Gold, shrimp, and sticky toffee pudding.
I resisted the temptation to get a second pint of Dorsey Gold because I wanted to be able to get back up the hill without breaking my neck. Even after one pint that was a challenge…
It had been sprinkling and I didn’t much fancy walking back up the hill and all those stairs in the rain, so I decided to head in for the night. Another driving day tomorrow!