And on to Lacock....

Upon leaving the picturesque village of Castle Combe, our group headed to the sweet town of Lacock,

another timeless and traditional English village,

first founded in 1232 and with most houses built in the 18th century or much earlier.

Almost untouched in the last few centuries,

the village has been the backdrop for many movies and period dramas,

including Pride and Prejudice, Cranford, Emma,

and a couple of Harry Potter films.

Situated in the center of the village is Lacock Abbey, first founded  in the 13th century as a nunnery,

which was converted into a country house of various architectural styles.

The cloister courtyard is especially picturesque. The cloisters and side rooms were converted into classrooms at Hogwarth Castle for the Harry Potter movies.

After touring the village which is almost completely owned by the National Trust, we found ourselves hungry, so we ducked into The Red Lion

to warm up and enjoy a Sunday roast.

And then sadly it was time to drive back into the city, leaving behind two magical villages that time has left untouched.

We had rented a Mercedes for the excursion, and were quite perplexed when a "cup" light illuminated  on the dashboard with a ding sound.

We wondered for a while--do British cars announce when it is time for tea?? After all, it was that time of the day!

Any guesses what it's for?

After a prolonged search in the owner's manual by our faithful "co-pilot" for the day, we finally realized that it was a warning signal that the driver was veering out of his lane, and might need to break for some caffeine. Needless to say, we got a good laugh out of that one, and stayed more focused on keeping our driver alert and staying in his own lane.

If you'd like to read a bit more about Lacock on a prettier day, this will direct you to earlier blogs after a 2010 visit, both here and here.