England - Day 3: Highclere/Downton, Royal St. George

Friday was a big day for Matt and I - we had planned and prepared for this day... In a couple different ways. See, Matt was golfing Royal St George (British Open Course for 2020) and I was heading for a lecture and tea at Highclere Castle (aka Downton Abbey). Matt prepped by practicing as much as he could, getting his handicap, listening to irritating podcasts, and although I don't know this for sure, probably google earthed the crap out of the course. I prepped by re-watching all the seasons of Downtown Abbey, watching any documentary I could, and reading up on Lady Carnarvon's blog (the countess of the castle).

Matt headed out early (with a sausage sandwich) to drive to Sandwich, an old fishing town close to his course. I slept in before taking an uber to the train station and catching the train to Reading and then to Newbury. I'll admit I was a bit nervous despite the fact that it was a simple commute. I've gotten used to traveling with Matt and having him lead and I've also gotten used to not taking public transportation - so ensuring I made the time and was on the right platform, going the right way was all things I was concerned about.

I got to Newbury early than I expected so I decided to head into town to look around. It was actually a cute town with a center street that was closed off for public happenings. The lack of commercialization made me realize how our world is so different - it was fun to see the cute meat shops, the locks working with the river barges, and all the mums with prams and toddlers. Made me miss my peanuts more than I could think about.

Before taking a taxi the 15 minutes to the castle, I wanted to stop for a bowl of soup. It was a bit early but I was hoping for a potato and leek soup - similar to the one I haven't forgotten about the last time I was in England. I had to settle for tomato at the Kings Café.

The castle stopped me as it loomed over
the hill. You knew you were approaching due to the gate check and the land that surrounded the house. It was gigantic and silent as it stood and despite all the watching, I wasn't prepared for seeing this character in real life. I had plenty of time to explore around the
house, see the gift shop, and take some pics before the lecture began. They offer exclusive events for people to partake in and then private tours with house historians. When we decided we were coming, I researched a bit and the lecture was "Script to Screens" specifically on how these houses come to life in another world. Our speaker, Caroline Lowlsey-Williams of Chavenage House, was hilarious, Lady Carnarvon greeted us to introduce
her. She commented how she would watch the filming of Downton on the bottom two rungs of the staircase steps. At one point during the lecture, I looked over and there she sat, listening to Caroline and the poetry and irony of this simple action made me stop.

This house, steeped in so much history, is now creating a future by living in the past and is being preserved by the current Earl and Countess. It was a way of life that England was built on but due to modernization, began to slip through the cracks leaving the rare exceptions and the ones with passion (and financial fortitude) to fight onward to keep the houses standing and alive. I digress. In short, the house was amazing. My only disappointment was the inability to take photos. I did sneak a few - a fleeting one of the lady on the steps, the ceilings of the salon and the drawing room.... It's a fine line to want to take pictures from your point of view and to respect the fact that this is someone's home.

After the inner tour, we had a slight tea - I ended up sitting with a couple from Kansas City (a doctor and his wife) who had spent the past week in England. He was born in Watertown SD of all places! I had a lovely walk around the grounds with them... not just around the house but into the gardens and to the closest folly (which is a visually appealing marker of the end of the land). As I was leaving the current Earl drove through the gates - in his Rolls Royce, reminding me that it really is a different lifestyle.

I caught the train back and met up with Matt at the station by beautiful coincidence.

His morning began at a Petro station. He arrived in time and found out he was a solo on the course where he met the starter, got his club, and met his caddy, Ian. He told me the course was challenging because of the time of
year and the current efforts being put into it to build it up for the 2020 British Open - to which they burn off parts, let it come back, and then burn the growth again to encourage the thickness. He told me about the greens, the sand

traps - like the one that was 25 feet high, and the rough. He had a snack at the turn and got Ian his regular snack of soup. He did comment that his caddy had more confidence in his short game than he had himself - or at least that's how I heard it at the recounting. He finished the day with lunch in the clubhouse with an all you can eat buffet. He was sad there was no pics in allowed in the clubhouse too. He did manage to score a specialized souvenir of a member's ball - one that he found on the course. I thought his stories recounting Ian's experience and opinions were cute.

I've encouraged him to guest blog his story - so that may still be coming.

He got rid of the rental car and took the train back.

After some serious discussion regarding our plans to Windsor, we

headed into Maidenhead for a bite. We ate at the Bell - which was probably the worst food of the trip - it was an Pub that had an American theme - what a waste. I tried the fish and chips and Matt had the bangers and mash. I wish we would have redone that. The only positive for Matt was he finally found the beer that Randy had wanted him to find on tap - Carlings.