Lacock Abbey with stopovers in Godric's Hollow, Budleigh Babbington, and at Hogwarts on the Way to Bath

"Before we begin our banquet I'd like to say a few words. And here they are, Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"  - Professor Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone

On Fridays Emma and Julian finish school at lunchtime which is perfect for weekends away and for our first weekend adventure we decided on Bath. I have had a partiality for Jane Austen novels since my teenage years and so a weekend of introducing the children to Jane's world sounded wonderful.

 Okay I will admit it, in fact I'm sure to have let on before, that I also have something of a Harry Potter addiction.  So I begin with this warning, if you are not a Harry Potter fan you may wish to stop reading at this point, but you will miss a visit to a marvellous place with much more to it than it's frequent use as a movie set. I solemnly swear that when I pulled out the guide books in order to find the perfect place to visit on the way to Bath I had no idea about the connection between Lacock Abbey and the Harry Potter movies. It was a course a lovely unexpected bonus and our literary weekend was expanding.

Lacock Abbey

 

We picked up the kids and set the TomTom on Lacock and we were off. Our route took us out of Dorset back into Wilshire and back to Stonehenge and then turned west in the direction of Devizes but we did not stay on main roads for long. We love how "Barbara" (the voice of our TomTom) sends us off the beaten track and into lovely little villages and woods which we assume must be shortcuts but you can never be sure.

The kids did really well on the journey, we find that planning to be in the car no longer than two hours at a time is a good plan. We listen to music or play "eye-spy" and talk about the places we are going. If patience is growing short and tempers fraying I will let them look at photos on the Ipad or as a special treat do a jigsaw on there.

 

 

After an hour and three quarters we arrived in what felt like a time capsule from another century or perhaps a movie set as Lacock is a perfectly preserved village that we have discovered has appeared in many movies over time, including a number of my favourites.  Rob pointed out the lovely golden colour of the stones of the buildings which we noticed again in Bath, which I have since found out is typical of Cotswolds Villages.

The Cloisters, Lacock Abbey

 

We had arrived at Lacock Abbey an hour before closing so we made our way in quickly around the beautiful front of the Abbey to the door. The main family rooms of the Abbey, which had been converted to a manor house by the lay owners of the property since the dissolution, were not open at this time of year but the Cloisters and rooms leading off from it were. At the door before we went in Emma turned to me and said "oh Mum this is where they used to walk around" I asked her who she meant and she didn't know but told me she found the place very spooky.  We walked in and found ourselves in the Cloisters which indeed the Sisters used to walk around. The first room we went into, the priests room (?) she could not stand to be in for even a moment. The quiet church music they had playing added to the spooky feel of the place for the kids but for me I found it quite serene.

 The Sacristy

 

Emma and I immediately began to recognise the place from Harry Potter scenes and excitement took over as we imagined the place covered in snow with a fountain placed in the middle. We walked down the very familiar Cloister's which were the hallways of Hogwarts and into the Sacristy. In the days before the dissolution the Sacristy was used to house the sacraments of the church and is said to be one of the oldest rooms in the Abbey with traces of 800 year old plaster. It was here that Snape taught students “How to bottle fame, brew glory and even put a stopper in death”.





The Chapter House

 

The next room we came to was the Chapter House where the Sister's gathered to hear a reading of the daily lesson or chapter. By this stage after a quick look Rob and Julian had gone on alone, probably a little over hearing Emma and I carrying on about this being Professor Quirrell's classroom. But by taking our time Emma and I found marvellous carvings and ancient paintings in the plaster ceiling. This room felt very special and we enjoyed spending a little longer here. We were really surprised to learn that there were only around fifteen sisters at a time living here, we decided that there must have been a lot of lay sisters or servants also to do the work because the sisters were praying from two o'clock in the morning and the Abbey was large.

 

 The Warming House

The founder of the Abbey, Ela, Countess of Salisbury, was married to King Richard the Lion Heart's illegitimate half brother, William Longespee. She founded the Abbey in 1232, when after his death she decided to withdraw from the world for a life of prayer. We decided that such high ladies were not scrubbing the floors and doing the washing.

 

In the next room we found something that seemed to have been left behind when the movie makers left but has in fact been at the Abbey since the fifteen hundreds, a huge metal cauldron. In this room, known as the Warming House, there was also a enormous limestone trough which they are unsure the use for, perhaps storing live fish or salting meat, however Julian was definitely not keen on the idea of it being used as a bath. The Warming House at one time was also the home of the Mirror of Erised and the cauldron also made an appearance in Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone.

 

With time growing short we quickly finished walking around the Cloister's enjoying the coloured lights they were installing for a nightly illumination show beginning the next day. On our way out the kids tried peeking into rooms of the Abbey not currently open to the public. The kids had been given a worksheet to complete at the ticket desk and they had yet to find one of the six stars they were sent to find. Luckily when we started our hide and seek game amongst the trees we began to find the stars as well which made the game even more fun.

 

We were aware that not only was the Abbey shortly to shut but also that our daylight was running out and we wanted to see the village as well. Therefore we cut short our game and headed back to the visitor centre where they encouraged us to take a minute to look at their photographic exhibition, which we were glad we did. The kids loved these photos all themed around the stars and planets and they were very beautiful. Then we head off down the street, with the huge doors locked behind us and we had a mission to find a few famous houses. I know I know I'm on about Harry Potter again but I just couldn't help myself.

 

 We had no idea which direction to head and I forgot to ask at the visitors centre and so we just walked to the end of the street where Rob suggested we turn right as left seemed to head out of town. The next intersection I recognised not just as the town centre of Budleigh Babbington but also as Meryton from Pride and Prejudice. Now we had no idea so when I saw an elderly lady who seemed out for her evening stroll I said loudly to Emma "Oh Emma I wish we had a map". I know I was being such a chicken but luckily the lovely lady called out to us to offer her help. She seemed to really enjoy telling us about all the occasions the movie people had come to town. She told an interesting story about the time "Gandolph came to town" and they had blackout curtains installed and a huge barrage balloon had been floated over an area "Just behind Slughorn's house" and filming had gone on until two in the morning. So now I had Tolkien, another favourite author to add to my ever expanding literary weekend.

Slughorn's House - Budleigh Babberton 

Armed with instructions we were easily able to find the house another Budleigh Babberton landmark, the house Slughorn was hiding out in in the movie Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. And then down a wonderful street of thatched and half timbered houses we passed the village church and arrived at the Potter's house, interestingly enough next door to the Lacock Pottery.

 

 The Potter's House - Godric's Hollow

 

Twilight was closing in and we were still about forty minutes from Bath so it was time to return to the car and the beautiful drive through the Mendip Hills to Bath. And as this has already gone on quite long enough thank you very much I shall sign off there and return with our day in Bath as soon as possible. Once again many thanks for joining us on our journey. 

 

 

 

(Date of visit to Lacock: Friday 24 January 2014)