Saturday (London to Swaffham via Sandringham)…

An early Saturday morning start to get us on an early train north. We hopped a short 20min taxi to the King’s Cross train station and purchased return service on the East Coast line to Peterborough. 9:30am train. Platform 1.

In no time, we left the bustle of London and found ourselves in the idyllic English countryside. The warm morning sun lit up rolling, well-tended fields, purposefully outlined by rows of trees and dotted with the occasional sheep. Rippled ponds and the occasional slow river. The occasional swan for effect. A small group of young American women on their way to Scotland charmed a local with discussions of reality shows and New Jersey politics.

We de-trained at Peterborough and took a 10 minute walk to Avis to pick up our little VW Jetta. My first time driving in England. Stay on the left! Stay in the left! Stay on the left! No problem. Saturday morning traffic backed up the round-abouts on our mostly one-laned roads, but otherwise we zipped easily through the countryside.

Our main sight for the day, the Queen’s estate at Sandringham, a stately home steeped in history but exuding the warmth of a lived-in home versus a frozen museum time capsule. We approached the house via a gentle wooded path, bordered by countless varieties of woodland flowers and shrubs. Box-trimmed hedges picked up when the forest ended as we approached the main home.

We entered–we were told–just as the royal family would into a small entryway off a large sitting room. Such a contrast to the opulence of Buckingham Palace yesterday, this home immediately felt like a place you could plop down and read a book. The home is furnished just as it is used by the Queen…minus the velvet ropes. Personal nick-nacks adorn every mantle and side table. Framed photos. Carved waterfowl. Board games. Books. Table strewn with an unfinished puzzle. The walls throughout the house are hung with cozy family portraits–primarily Queen Victoria forward–and romantic scenes of the hunt. An extensive rifle and weapon collection fills many hallways. Room after room revealed a relaxing retreat for a family of constant formality. Rather than a house to impress, it stands as a repository to all the items that generations have accumulated and obviously still carry deep sentimental attachment.

In the home’s simple ballroom, a Jubilee exhibit presented an approachable number of photographs of the Queen at various points in time since her coronation. A fascinating retrospective of events and styles and locations. According to several sources we have read this trip, the Queen is the most photographed person in history, which makes this tidy collection even more impressive!

Exiting the house, we strolled to the nearby museum, housed in the livery buildings…formerly horses, now used for cars and carriages. We stopped for a quick sandwich and cake for afternoon tea, and then perused the small museum. The exhibits focused on the history of the house through the eyes and styles of each monarch since Victoria. An impressive collection of royal cars rounded out the exhibit.

With the sun sinking lower we wandered through formal gardens, along pea-gravel paths, and beneath lines of towering trees. The warm sun lit up the red brick and warm stone of the home. A shady path wound around a tranquil pond, providing a postcard scene to end the visit. As we exited the estate, we quickly popped into the church…a tiny chapel tucked away in a clearing. The interior was simple, but meticulously decorated and lovingly cared for.

A thirty minute drive transported us to the small town of Swaffham and our evening stay at the quirky Strattons hotel. The small hotel encompasses a number of traditional English buildings, turning each interior space into a unique, contemporary room. We stayed in CoCoes #1. How appropriate.

We sat in the cozy lobby and sipped a full-bodied Spanish Tempranillo before dinner. Fittingly, dinner was as creative as our stylish hotel. Seasonal local ingredients added fresh spins to hearty English fare. Blue cheese. Pears. Norfolk crab and sea bass. Luscious pork. We finished our meal with a delicious chocolate tart with a coffee ice cream.

We retired early and enjoyed the refreshing evening breezes carrying the chilly scent of fall leaves. We slept soundly.