Very Hounds of the Baskerville-esque

There is just something about a misty day.

One of my all-time favourite scenes from a movie comes from the 2005 re-make of Pride and Prejudice, when Mr. Darcy emerges from the mist on that early morning and stammers and stutters his "I love you" to Miss Elizabeth.

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My heart melts and soars simultaneously - the sentiment behind his words, the magical nature of the English weather and its countryside. What girl wouldn't be swept off of her feet? Yet as romantic as the mist is, it usually brings to mind much more ominous thoughts than this romantic scene.....

Last summer, when our family had our own European adventure, my husband happened to see a sign to "Castle Drogo" on the highway, remembering the name from an architectural book he had at home, he thought it warranted a detour.

As we wound our way through the English countryside, the mist was thick, the hedges were high, and the single-lane road was deserted. We merely relied on the Sat-Nav, which had mostly been reliable as we hoped to be heading towards the castle. All I could think of were the scenes from the mystery novels I had devoured as a child... nothing good comes out of the mist (except for Mr. Darcy, whom I had forgotten for the moment) ... and I was convinced we were going to meet our demise.

The roadway leading to Drogo

Upon arrival at the Castle, I rather happily (and gratefully!) discovered that we were not the only people who had made this particular journey; there was no axe-murderer waiting to end our lives. I was relieved and joked with the cashier about the weather being typically English, very spooky and mysterious at the same time. He replied quite matter-of-factly to this, "why yes, it is very Hounds of the Baskerville-esque!"And that phrase has stuck.

Today, as I drove my daughter and I to the Good Friday service, the mist was thick and soupy; trees and buildings would suddenly appear and then disappear as the mist enveloped them, and all I could think about was the drive to Drogo, and how very Hounds of the Baskerville-esque the weather is today.

The view on the way to Church