Thursday, July 11

               On July 11^th we spent a considerable part of the day on the road.  We awoke at our usual time in the morning for a quick breakfast before meeting our driver, Paul, at nine in the morning to depart for Downe House.  Downe House is the family home of Charles Darwin, where he raised his children, conducted many of his scientific experiments and wrote The Origin of Species.  Located just a few miles south of London’s Charring Cross, the house took a long time to drive to, and so we were ready to explore when we finally arrived.

                Before entering the house, one of the guides lectured us on how to behave in the house – do not take photographs, watch your step, and avoid reaching over crossed off areas so as not to set off an alarm.  With these instructions in mind, we made our way throughout the rooms of the house, including Darwin’s study, the family’s living area, and rooms providing information on the Darwin’s experiments, voyage on the HMS Beagle and family tree.  After seeing everything the inside of the house had to offer, we made our way to a nearby field to enjoy a picnic, in which we ate our final “bagged” lunches from Brasenose’s kitchen.

                After lunch, we spent some time walking around Charles Darwin’s gardens.  I was shocked to hear that he walked the trail at least three times a day, because it took us a significant amount of time to walk it once.  We were fortunate enough to not only see a beautiful area, but also be surrounded by scientific history as we enjoyed our scenic walk.  Upon our revival back at the entrance, we boarded the van to set off for our next destination.

                After another drive, we made our way to Chartwell, the family home of Winston Churchill.  The estate was on a very high piece of land with a gorgeous view of the county of Kent, and the house itself was predictably impressive.  Rooms we visited included objects such as furniture and tools used by the Churchill family, as well as a gallery of uniforms and objects used by Winston Churchill throughout his career.  We also visited his painting studio, which had on display dozens of paintings the Prime Minister had created. We then took a walk on the trail around the property and several lakes, culminating in a few moments on his children’s swings.  At the end of our walk, we boarded the van and departed for our very long and traffic-filled drive on London's beltway (the M 25) back to Brasenose.

submitted by Tommy Legg

 A sunny morning at Downe House, the home of
Charles Darwin.

 Mr. Reid, ecstatic to be in Darwin's greenhouse!

Artichokes growing in Darwin's garden.

 Enjoying the backyard of Downe House.

 

On to Chartwell, home to Winston Churchill.

 

Sterling standing along side Gunnera tinctoria, in the Chartwell garden. This is a giant rhubarb-like plant native to Chile which evolved some 150 million years ago.