In the land of the Famous five and Elizabeth Bennet

i am back to blogging after a while. And the best part of it is that i am back from a travel experience that’s going to be a part of me for a lifetime. The land of Jane Austen and her novels, the countryside that Enid Blyton described enchantingly in each of her tales, from the land where we took to this wonderful language – English.

My first visit to a place outside of India, turned out to be the place of my childhood stories and fantasies - visuals of open green landscapes, stone castles and children hanging around sipping lemonade and gorging on home-made apple pies and tarts. Well, i got to re-live all of this and i got to re-live my childhood! Nostalgia! The smell of the wet green grass by the Loch Lomond, the sight of the picturesque countryside as the train took us closer to Windsor, the sounds of the birds chirping by the Thames, all of these were right out of those books that i grew up reading. i got to live a sunny, bright, clear-skied British summer!

As I walked past the aged castle in Helensburg, with a clock tower at its face, with german shepherds, and terriers hopping past the green lawn, I visualized the famous five set on a mystery. As we walked by the lake, it drizzled lightly, the Captain from one of the steamers chirped, “This is Scotland for you. 4 seasons in an hour’s time!” The stones and boulders at the edge of the park made me wonder if Robert Frost witnessed these very lands as he wrote his poems.

Entrance of the Balloch Castle Country Park, Balloch, Scotland

Loch Lomond

Here i was, thousands of miles away from home, but as i walked past the river, it all looked and felt so familiar. i felt so much at home in a foreign land! It felt as though i’d been here before. The sight of the river with the boats anchored every few yards looked enchanting. So were the large trees standing by the river, as if telling the stories of the folks and the royalty of a bygone era.

As i get back to my mundane life, it is not technology, neither the skyscrapers that call back my thoughts. All i long to experience again is the warmth of nature, by the silent banks of the river, to lose track of time as i hear the birds tweet and see the stream flow. All i long to feel is the smell of the wet mud after a drizzle, and watch the swans float past me one after another.

A quiet evening by the Thames

This connection is here to stay. This one for a lifetime.

Find more pictures from this trip to Britain and Scotland, here.