walking in the 'Downton Abbey village'

[mpd]

Hello mpd, so you are somewhere up Durham way then? My Mother used to love those novels.If there is one thing us Brits do well, it's cash in on these 'author' trails. In Haworth [Yorkshire] it's all about the Brontes, then there are various ones in Oxford and Exmoor is redesignated as Lorna Doone country etc. No doubt the tourists like it.We were having lunch in a pub we go to in Oxford [good pub grub] called The Eagle And Child when we were asked [twice] to take group photos of tourists because it's the pub that 'The Inklings' used to use, C.S. Lewis, Tolkein et al.

Thanks Oakapple for taking the time to reply. No, South Shields. I know on occasions they film "out in the sticks," but most of the riverside industrial shots were around my area. She was born in the town. Of course at a relatively early age she moved down South, but at least she had "the sense" to see out her later years in the North East. At least she never lost sight of her roots. A nice woman.

 

[Josiah]

I shouldn't be making this comment, some more observant woman should but despite the effort to be authentic, I don't feel that the hair styles of the upper class woman in Downton Abbey are really as authentically strange as they were in the early years of the 20th century.

 

[dancingqueen]

I'm with you, Marty. I never watch a show live unless it's on PBS where there are no commercials. I record everything. I hope they don't ever come up with a gadget so that we can't do that!

 

[dancingqueen]

Josiah, I think the styles change as the show goes along. By season five, in the early twenties, the 'flapper' era, I think the styles are quite correct.

 

[dancingqueen]

Marty, I thought it was just me who felt that everybody was talking too fast or not clearly! I'm glad to hear there is someone else. I too use CC all the time.

 

[oakapple]

What [or who] is IRL ?

 

[oakapple]

Josiah, I had thought that the hair styles were quite authentic or certainly enough to 'pass muster' but I am not an authority on historical hair styles.

 

[oakapple]

Radish rose, I think you would have trouble with accents here in series set in; Liverpool, Birmingham, Ireland and Wales and Scotland, and maybe Cornwall [we all have trouble understanding some of these accents !

 

[oakapple]

Also very strong London accents too.Cor Blimey Guv!

 

[RadishRose]

Oakapple, I enjoyed Doc Martin set in Cornwall. I was ok w/ the accents there, but don't know about those other areas. Ta.

 

[oakapple]

Oakapple, I enjoyed Doc Martin set in Cornwall. I was ok w/ the accents there, but don't know about those other areas. Ta.

The actors in Doc martin [most of them] are not Cornish and it's all a very watered down kind of Cornish accent.Try watching the modern remake of Jamaica Inn, all England struggled to understand that, a bit too authentic !

 

[Sunny]

In September, mostly inspired by Doc Martin, I went on a tour of Cornwall, which was wonderful. Small group, very friendly, conducted by natives of the region. In addition to Port Isaac ("Portwenn" in the show) we visited a number of fascinating Cornwall locations. One was the Lanhydrock estate, one of the models for Downton Abbey. Some of the former servants were consultants for Downton Abbey, verifying that the placement of silver, china, etc. was correct in the dinner scenes.

Lanhydrock is open to the public to walk through and immerse oneself in the lives of those who lived and worked in these grand estates.

I'm very much an American, but the Anglophile part of me really enjoys visiting England. Now that I've seen the "Doc Martin" village, I'm really hoping they return with another season of that show.

 

[oakapple]

Glad you enjoyed your stay Sunny! I know Lanhydrock well as I used to live in Cornwall years ago [a village called St. Germans.] I enjoy Doc Martin too, and was in Port Isaac last Summer for the day, and noted that pub prices had shot up due to the tourist interest, but it's all good news for the village.