The cottages are prim and proper with flower gardens out front. Shining panes frame white-curtained windows. Inside, a guide said, you likely would find modern appliances and decor. Outside, however, there are few traces of today. Certainly no fast food cartons, soft drink cans or bottles littered about.
Guides point to the absence of power lines.
All utilities are underground and out of sight so as to maintain a look of a simpler time. When buildings are repaired or fences mended, all must be done precisely to preserve the pristine scene. The Trust also is committed to preserving and enhancing wildlife, from mosses and lichens to wood-boring beetles and carpet moths, red squirrels and red deer. Far from the madding crowds to be encountered days later on London trains and at Chicago's O'Hare Airport.