Published on Sep, 2024
We are huge Downton Abbey fans and knew we wanted to visit Highclere Castle on our recent trip to London. Getting there on our own was a challenge, so we found this small coach tour that not only took us to Highclere, but also stopped at several other film sites in the area. We chose this tour because it not only included our entrance tickets into Highclere, but also went to Bampton (Downton Village), Shilton (where Bates worked at the Red Lion Pub in Kirby-Moreside after he was released from prison), Swinbrook (where Sybill & Tom eloped), and is the one of the only tours to also stop at Cogges Manor Farm in Witney (Yew Tree Farm). Our tour guide, Amber (from Texas!), was a wealth of knowledge and had screenshots from the show to help us see where and how the scenes were filmed.
Our tour started at the farm, where we had a lot of fun seeing the animals and imagining the film crews and actors running their lines in different scenes. We stopped at the three villages, taking pictures and hopefully not being a nuisance to the residents. Bampton was very fun to see all the sites we are so familiar with, St. Mary's Church and graveyard, Mrs. Crawley's House, and the buildings that were used for the Downton Cottage Hospital (Bampton Library), the Post Office, Grantham Arms, and others I don't recall. The whole village felt so familiar as we wandered around.
Then we headed toward Newbury and on to Highclere Castle. It was such a thrill to see the Big House we know and love when we entered the gates and you could almost hear the opening music as we walked up the gravel drive. We enjoyed lunch outside (fighting off the wasps-yikes!) and enjoyed some delicious and refreshing gin cocktails made with Highclere Gin. After lunch, we toured the house, just the parts that were used in filming, and had an opportunity to visit the fascinating Egyptian Exhibition* downstairs. It was a very hot day, so we sought shelter in the peaceful and gorgeous gardens. We found Mary's bench and marvelled at the beautiful grounds and surrounding countryside. We stopped into the gift shop to purchase a photo guide (since we couldn't take pictures inside the house) and found a lot of lovely gift items for sale. We caught a glimpse of Lady Carnarvon taking a group of visitors on a Garden Tour as we were leaving, and wished we'd had time to follow along. It was a lovely, memorable day and I would highly recommend this tour to any Downton Abbey fan.
*For more information about the Egyptian connection and why it's tied to Highclere Castle, I recommend watching the 2016 drama series, "Tutankhamun" which explores the 5th Earl of Carnarvon's role in the discovery of King Tut's tomb.
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