The appeal of Ancestry.com may have many of us clicking our way into our family鈥檚 past but nothing can match the thrill of discovering its reality and walking the ground that our forefathers did. I say that as a prelude to describing one of the most enjoyable and rewarding tours I鈥檝e led as a guide for 妻友直播 Tours.
My clients were a couple from New England, baby-boomers like me, to whom the post-war years had been relatively generous. Until now, that is. The husband had recently been diagnosed with a degenerative illness so his wife determined to take him back to England, from where his antecedents had come several centuries ago, for a trip of family discovery before such journeys became too stressful for him.
It proved a day of amazing revelations and huge generosity.
I had a few days鈥� notice beforehand to research into the family鈥檚 past. The details I had were that they鈥檇 originated in Essex, a county stretching from London鈥檚 eastern boundary along the line of the River Thames to England鈥檚 North Sea coast. It鈥檚 a county that starts in towns made wealthy by their proximity to the mighty financial sector known as the City of London. It then extends eastwards through rich farmland to historic fishing ports along England鈥檚 east coast.
Most significant was the fact that my client was distantly related to the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur of flying fame. Before any of that the Wrights鈥� forefathers had been lords of the manor at a grand country estate in the rural heart of Essex known as Kelvedon Hall. This information combined with my own personal knowledge helped create a brilliant itinerary.
So on the day of the tour we set off from the London hotel eastwards into Essex. The heavens were shining upon us with a perfect sunny day.
Kelvedon Hall lies shielded behind an imposing blank set of gates off a narrow country lane. For my clients this was already more than enough, seeing the beautiful Essex countryside. But, in a pre