Father and Daughter Travel to Jane Austen’s England

It’s a photographer’s worst nightmare. While going through thousands of photos from my trip to southeast England, an entire SD card was missing. I searched through my chip case, but couldn’t find it. I looked through my camera bag, but it wasn’t there. I scrolled through all the photos in the collection of pictures from a 10-day period, but couldn’t find it. Then, I remembered what might have happened to the photos.

While driving from Chawton to Winchester, a car pulled in front of me while I was driving 50 miles per hour in my rental car on a curvy road. On the other side of the road was a group of bicyclists. I slammed on the break, and my camera that was sitting on the passenger seat flew forward to the ground. I looked down and noticed all the compartments were open and the battery was tossed aside. When I arrived back at my hotel, I picked up my camera, placed the battery back inside, and closed all the compartments.

After my trip to southeastern England was over, my daughter and I stayed in London for a few days. While in London, I continued to add to the thousands of photos I had already taken. On the seven-and-a-half hour flight from London to NYC, I began scouring through my photos and making edits.

While on the trip, three cameras were in use. I had my go-to lens, a 24-70 GM lens, on my Sony a7rV and a wide-angle lens on my Sony a7rii camera. I let my daughter use my Olympus Tough camera, which I sometimes like to use when diving or hiking for long distances in the rain, because it’s waterproof and can take a beating.

While on the plane ride and anxiously scouring through my photos, I remembered the near accident. I slumped back in my chair and closed my eyes and let out a groan. My 10-year-old daughter, sitting next to me on the plane, heard my exacerbated reaction, and took off her headphones and asked me what’s wrong. I told her I think the SD card that had all the photos of Jane Austen’s house and the Chawton House fell out in the rental car. She tried to comfort me, and said, “I’m sorry, Daddy.”

While looking at the photos, I found a few pictures I took at the Jane Austen House with the wide-angle lens. I don’t like to use that lens often because it lacks the detail that my other lenses can pick up. I looked at my phone, but the only photos on my iPhone were selfies we took in front of Jane Austen’s mirror and when my daughter and I had lunch at the Chawton House.

When we arrived back in New York City, I opened up the bags to unpack. While going through my daughter’s backpack, there was the Olympus Tough camera that she used throughout her trip. I took out the SD card and pushed it into my computer. I scrolled through hundreds of photos she took, many of which were blurry, because she rarely stays still. Then, I landed on the day we visited Jane Austen’s home, and I stopped being angry with myself, and I smiled.

My first experience with Jane Austen was back in high school when I read Mansfield Park for English class. I wasn’t the most studious person back then and was more interested in making people laugh than in being educated. Despite my lack of academic interest, I loved to read, and there was something about the main character, Fanny Price, that drew me in.

Years later, while in an English literature class in college, I was assigned to read Pride and Prejudice. Remembering how much I enjoyed Mansfield Park, I dove into the novel and read it at a quick pace. While discussing the book in class, I noticed many of the girls in the class swooning over the mere mention of Mr. Darcy’s name. We discussed the characters and how they made us feel, and then the teacher invited the class to her home to watch the 1995 BBC version of the book.

The teacher’s living room was mostly full of girls from the class, with only a couple of us guys. Because I was a theater student, I knew the literature professors pretty well, because the lit department and theater department often intersected. I was also there because being one of a handful of guys interested in female literary authors helped my dating life. We paused the series at the half-way point, and the teacher asked what the class thought. One of my female friends in the class laughed, and said, “Mr. Darcy is kind of like Jason.” The teacher said, “Go on.” And knowing that the entire class was smitten with Mr. Darcy, I leaned forward to hear more. “Mr. Darcy is arrogant at first, but we find out there are other layers to him, and he’s romantic — kind of like Jason.”

Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth’s clothes from the BBC version of *Pride and Prejudice*. On Display at the Great Hall in Winchester.

After listening to my friend’s description, I was equally ashamed as much as honored. As the conversation went on, the women, including the teacher, spoke about how much they were all in love with Mr. Darcy and Colin Firth’s portrayal of the character. The whole time, I was thinking, “Hello, remember what she said? I’m right here.” Thus, my love of Pride and Prejudice was born.

Besides Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park, I also enjoyed reading Emma and Persuasion. I have more reading to do, and after purchasing all of her books, I’ve got no excuse.

Anyway, back to Jane Austen’s house.

The main reason I was in the UK was to visit the Jane Austen House. 2025 marks the 250th birthday of the literary icon. The goal was to travel to her home, and to where she loved to spend her time, the walks she went on, and where she was laid to rest. Before the trip, being a Jane Austen fan, I was excited to walk in her footsteps. My daughter is too young to read the books, so we watched the 2005 version with Keira Knightley before flying to England.

We arrived at the Jane Austen House on a beautiful and sunny day. With a few clouds in the sky, the sites made for the perfect photo. Sometimes, as a photographer, you take a snap and know you’ve captured an amazing photograph. I had many moments of those throughout the day. Sadly, they’ll never be shared.

As my daughter and I walked around, we marveled at the sight of her small desk, where she wrote six of her novels. I looked out the window from where she would have sat and imagined what Jane looked like as she feverishly wrote away, while occasionally gazing out over the green fields.

As the floorboards creaked underneath our feet during our walk from room to room, I loved the idea that I was walking where Jane Austen walked. We looked into her bedroom, as well as the room her sister lived in and where her mother slept. Seeing her handwriting in books and on sheets of paper, excited my Jane Austen fandom. Occasionally during the tour, I would stop to look at my daughter being in the moment. She snapped photos of what she thought was interesting, and I would smile at her excitement.

iPhone photo of our feet standing where Jane stood.

While going through her photos, I was hoping to find perfect shots of the house. I didn’t see any that would be deemed “professional,” but then I stopped at a photo and smiled. The photo captured a moment. In the picture, my daughter is focusing on a table, but in the distance, with a cutoff piece of head, is me smiling down at her. I was having a joyful moment.

Being a travel photographer and travel writer, sometimes I can get outside myself and focus too often on what I think a reader wants to see and learn about. Which is important, but that’s not why we travel. We travel to create unforgettable memories. My daughter and I had that experience while walking around the Jane Austen House, even if the photos do not scratch my artistic itch.

Traveling is about creating your own story. It’s at the root of why I became a travel writer and travel photographer. Standing where a literary giant stood and created is a side story from my UK trip with my daughter. The real story was about a father and daughter driving around southeast England, laughing, bonding, and having a wonderful time. And in a moment, my daughter unknowingly captured the entire trip perfectly.

I’ll have more to say about my trip to Jane Austen’s England, but was inspired to tell this side of the trip before I get into the who, where, why, and how.

I was assisted by Visit Southeast England on this journey.
To learn more about the Jane Austen House, click here.
For tickets, click here.

My Daughter’s photos: