Lovely to spend a weekend hiking about England’s Cotswolds, poking around antique shops and lush gardens. Or catching an outdoor concert at the Royal Botanic Garden’s Kew Gardens. Or strolling Cornwall’s beaches, then settling in for a night’s rest in a charming country inn.
Lovely indeed–but a drag on your wallet with round-trip flights to Great Britain starting around $800 this time of the year.
Undaunted, At Play headed to Chicago’s northern suburbs, where Tudor architecture stands proud, houses with castle-like aspirations sprout from forested enclaves and one country inn seems plucked straight from a village in Kent.
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The aim: Enjoy a bit of Britain in the ‘burbs without battering your bank account.
Getting there: Fueled with a home-cooked Brit breakfast–Winston’s Irish bacon (from the Winston’s shop at 4701 W. 63rd St., 773-767-4353), fried eggs and fried tomatoes–my husband, who was born in England, and I packed light and headed to the Ogilvie Transportation Center (Madison and Canal Streets). Armed with $5 unlimited weekend tickets, we were off on Metra’s Union Pacific North line. Bring a bicycle if you like; it makes tooling through neighborhoods a breeze. (For schedules and bicycle information, go to www.metrarail.com).
Barely an hour later, we were in Lake Forest, home of the Tudor-inspired Deer Path Inn, our lodging for the night, and the Lake Forest Garden Club, silver medalists at this year’s Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show.
Stop 1: Our arrival at the Lake Forest Metra station coincided with that peckish feeling that overcomes one–OK, me–when faced with a pastry shop. An excellent solution sat across from the station in Gerhard’s Elegant European Desserts (720 N. Western Ave., Lake Forest; 847-234-0023). There, two fruit tarts and two cups of hot tea were enjoyed at cafe tables, solving one problem. For something more substantial, South Gate Cafe (655 Forest Ave., Lake Forest; 847-234-8800) offers lunch and dinner. We had a cool gazpacho and grilled shrimp salad in South Gate’s dining room, where white tablecloths, dark wood chairs, floral-patterned curtains and framed botanical prints made it look “like the dining room in a hotel in the English countryside,” said the spouse.
Another problem–what to do until 3 p.m. check-in–was solved easily enough. We browsed the shops, nooks and crannies of Market Square and Bank Lane. There are antique consignment shops. Amidei Mercatino (235 Southgate, Lake Forest; 847-295-5890), a quaint shop tucked in a small space between buildings, is resplendent with geraniums and produce. And at Ex-Floreus (760 N. Western Ave., Lake Forest; 847-295-6185), you can solve all your topiary and plant pedestal needs.
Stop 2: We checked into the Deer Path Inn (255 E. Illinois Rd., Lake Forest; 847-234-2280. www.dpihotel.com), then we checked out the facilities. John “Fawlty Towers” Cleese has reportedly stayed at the Deer Path Inn, though we did not spot him or his cantankerous series persona “Basil Fawlty” there. What we did find: Nice pub–with a mounted deer head and range of brews ready for a perfectly pulled pint. Nice interior garden. Fun display of those fanciful containers masquerading as notable characters called Toby jugs. A large room off the lobby boasted a huge painting over a stone fireplace of Mary Queen of Scots on the way to her execution–but not one book, magazine, chessboard or backgammon set in sight. We headed east to the Lake Forest beach (the hotel provides complimentary passes) and Lake Michigan, past lovely homes offering a vague sense of England. The beach may not be Cornwall, but the water’s rhythm still soothes.
Stop 3: Dinner meant a salute to London’s curry houses, so it was south to Highwood (Metra on Saturday leaves Lake Forest at 2:24 p.m. and 4:24 p.m. and arrives in Highwood roughly 10 minutes later). Pre-dinner, you can wander the town–a few home furnishing and antique shops and a bocce club–or head to Curry Hut (410 Sheridan Rd., Highwood; 847-432-2889) located across the parking lot from Metra’s Highwood station. Dine in (as we’ve done before and enjoyed) or order something to take away. With an order of samosas and an appetizer assortment (chicken tikka, booti kebab, seekh kebab) in hand, there was time to catch the 4:24 p.m. Metra headed south to Ravinia.
Stop 4: Ravinia became our Kew Gardens concert, our National Trust evening at Wiltshire’s Stourhead. There was even Boddington’s Pub Ale ($6.25 a can) on sale at Ravinia’s Le Cafe. So we settled down with our Curry Hut fare for an evening of “A Prairie Home Companion” live broadcast and jazz from Madeleine Peyroux. We were content on the grass, though you can rent lawn chairs ($5) and a table plus two chairs ($10). It was back to the hotel on a 10:20 p.m. train.
Stop 5: We honored the noon checkout, and then Sunday brunch beckoned in Evanston (and the Davis Street stop). A few blocks east and we were at the Celtic Knot Public House (626 Church St., Evanston; 847-864-1679; www.celticknotpub.com). It was the Full Monty Irish Breakfast for me (bangers, black and white pudding, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms and fried bread, $10.95), an order of brown bread and, for my husband, bubble and squeak (sauteed cabbage and potatoes, $5.95)–a dish I happily snuck bites of when he wasn’t looking. Delicious.
Stop 6: A post-brunch wander to the nearby Bookman’s Alley (1712 Sherman Ave./Rear, Evanston; 847-869-6999) finished the weekend on a cozy note as we browsed the used bookstore that is like few others, with themed areas delineated by antiques and collectibles. Search for books on the monarchy or Churchill if you like. You probably won’t find a copy of “Vanishing Cornwall” by Daphne du Maurier. The volume I dug out of the British history stacks cost me $9.
The hotel conclusion: The staff overseeing the 26 rooms and 28 suites of the inn was charming, helpful and not a bit ill-tempered and bumbling (as a Basil Fawlty might be) despite the 100 or so folks who converged on the hotel the Saturday we were there for an engagement party. Our check-in at the hotel–we had called a week earlier to make reservations–went smoothly. While check-in is at 3 p.m., early guests can leave their luggage at the front desk or find out if their room is available early, we’re told.
The Deer Path Inn is based on a Tudor inn in the Kent village of Chiddingstone, England. But it is also historic in its own right. The Lake Forest lodging, built in 1929 at the current site, is also one of this country’s National Trust for Historic Preservation’s “Historic Hotels of America.” The lobby is small and cozy, with touches of subdued elegance. Art ranges from a few paintings to prints (fox hunts, animals, etc.). The upstairs hallways are tiny, short–fans of the BBC show might find them reminiscent of the “Fawlty Tower’s” set. Each room bears a plaque of a British Trust site (Sissinghurst, Basildon, etc.). There’s that lovely courtyard garden, a nice dining room (taken over by the engagement party) and on a wall leading to the pub, a black-and-white photo of the “The Falkland Arms in Great Tew, Oxfordshire,” a pub not far from where my husband grew up.
We stayed at the hotel several years ago and loved our room with leaded windows that opened onto the garden. This time, our window overlooked the parking lot and boasted what my husband called “cottage wallpaper” that seemed a bit tired but was, as he put it, “certainly English in that way.” Next time? We’ll request a room overlooking the garden.
How easy is it to do without a car: With summer’s traffic a car may be more trouble than it’s worth. But, if you (a) plan to shop, (b) visit sites far from the railway line, (c) don’t have a hike’s worth of energy in you or (d) prefer the flexibility that a train schedule doesn’t allow and refuse to take a taxi, consider a car.
Would you do it again: In a minute.
Total cost: $2 CTA fare each way from home to Ogilvie Transportation Center. $10 for two weekend Metra fares. $9.79 for tea and pastry break at Gerhard’s. $199.80 one-night stay at the Deer Path Inn. $17.01 for Curry Hut picnic (order of samosas, assorted appetizers plus soft drinks sipped while we waited for our order). $20 for two tickets to Ravinia lawn seating. $27.02 brunch at Celtic Knot. Total: $291.62.
Rating: 4 train whistles (out of 4)
Britain in the ‘burbs
Depending on your energy level, access to wheels–bike, car or a taxi–and time constraints, here are a few more possible stops on a “Your Rail” visit to Britain in the ‘burbs:
BROWSE A BOTANIC GARDEN: Braeside station, Metra’s Union Pacific North line.
Englishman Lancelot “Capability” Brown, that 18th Century master of gardening, could have spent hours wandering the Chicago Botanic Garden (1000 Lake Cook Rd., Glencoe; 847-835-5440. www.chicagobotanic.org). We did once with my father-in-law, an author and editor of several books on English gardens. What delighted him the most? The Chicago Botanic Garden’s beautiful English walled garden, where different gardening traditions of that country are celebrated, from an easygoing cottage garden to trimmed topiary and covered pergola. Admission: Free, but parking is $12. You can walk (about 1.3 miles) from the Braeside station.
BE LIKE BOND: Lake Bluff station, Union Pacific North line
Slip behind the wheel of an Aston Martin DB9 at Lake Forest Sports Cars (990 North Shore Drive, Lake Bluff; 847-295-6560). It used to be located near Lake Forest Metra station–hence the name–but has moved to Lake Bluff just off Illinois Highway 43; you’ll need to have a car or call a taxi to visit). Gaze at one of the new models or wander to the rear of the showroom where earlier models sit under the gaze of Sean Connery smiling down from a “007” movie poster.
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TOOL AROUND: Kenilworth station, Union Pacific North line.
There’s more than Tudor architecture and British street names–Leicester, Essex, Kent–in Kenilworth. The village was the brainchild of successful Chicago businessman Joseph Sears, who saw a planned community as a way to capture the family-centered feeling of a trip to Kenilworth, England, northwest of London in Warwickshire. He set about recreating that town in the late 1800s with design input from Daniel Burnham, Jens Jensen and others. It’s worth a bicycle spin through the area.
RAVINIA GUEST HOUSE: Ravinia station, Union Pacific North line.
Built in 1926, this English Colonial-style residence in Highland Park (847-433-3140; www.bedandbreakfast.com) is within walking distance of Ravinia and offers three bed-and-breakfast guest rooms (two have private baths). My colleague Kevin Williams wrote about his experience there in a 2004 Tribune story: “Our room . . . featured details galore, from the antique grooming supplies placed just so on the dresser to fluffy white towels so immense you could almost sleep under them.” Nightly room rates range from $132.50 to $142.50, breakfast included. Located about three blocks from the Metra station.
PACK A PICNIC
There are plenty of fine food shops along this route if you’d prefer a do-it-yourself picnic for a trip to Ravinia or as sustenance for an afternoon of biking. Most convenient to the Deer Path Inn? Foodstuffs (255 Westminster, Lake Forest; 847-234-6600), where you can get a few British goodies such as chive crackers from Bath, sparkling water (Speyside Glenlivet) from Scotland, Stilton cheese and lemon curd.
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