Jane.

So I'm going to ask you to cast your minds back into the mists of time. Way back to the mid 1990's. Do you remember when Pride and Prejudice was on the tele and Colin Firth was Mr Darcy? I will admit that I was besotted. It coincided with when I met my (now) husband - we went on a date the night the first episode screened and during our courtship he gave me this:

I knew it was serious. Even more so when we went on a five week motoring holiday in the UK - fourteen years ago. As a sign of his devotion he drove the car to these destinations on a Jane Austen/Pride and Prejudice pilgrimage.

The Jane Austen House Museum at Chawton:

Jane Austen actually lived here. Admittedly, it was only for the last eight years of her life, yet this is the only residence that you can visit. The house that she grew up in and spent most of her life in, the Rectory at Steventon, was pulled down - supposedly a tree planted by one of her brothers marks the location.

From there we moved on to Bath:

And Lyme Regis:

Where walked along the Cobb - the site of Louisa Musgrove's fateful accident in Persuasion.

Then we moved on to the Piece de resistance - Lyme Park:

Aka Pemberley where the Pride and Prejudice TV series had been filmed. I stood by the actual lake where Mr Darcy (Colin Firth) stripped off and went for a dip:

In case you have forgotten, or never seen (quelle horreur) this piece of television mastery, you can watch it here.

Here's my own Mr Darcy - fourteen years ago:

Needless to say I married him and I can't say that I fancy Colin Firth anymore. Do you?

R