Downton Abbey Filming Locations and HIGHCLERE CASTLE

Travel to the beautiful Cotswolds to visit some of the filming sites of Downton Abbey. We head over to the charming Oxfordshire hills and go in search of familiar sites from the hit TV series and recent worldwide blockbuster movie. Our first stop is Cogges Manor Farm with its collection of friendly animals beautifully located on the banks of the River Windrush. We will learn of its role in Downton Abbey as Yew Tree Farm where Lady Edith’s daughter Marigold was raised by the Drewe family. Visit the kitchens and Mr Drewe’s living room, see the farmyard where many scenes were filmed and watch a unique and special presentation video about the farm’s role in the television series.

After a coffee break we will continue to explore the region, stopping in delightful Shilton with its shallow ford, used in Series Two to double for the pub where Bates found employment and the village of Swinbrook where Lady Sybil and Tom Branson spent the night on their aborted elopement. Onwards to Bampton to see St Mary’s church scene of so many weddings, a funeral or two and a jilting when it was transformed into St Michael’s in Downton Abbey. See the Cottage Hospital and Mrs Crawley’s house during the guided walk, visit the village green, see the post office, Mrs Patmore’s Bed and Breakfast and The Grantham Arms pub.

We then make our journey southwards from the Cotswolds to the chalk down land of Hampshire, to visit the magnificent Highclere Castle. This will be known to many as Lord Grantham’s family seat, Downton Abbey itself. We head through the landscaped grounds by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and up the gravel drive to the door. Lord and Lady Carnarvon have welcomed cast and crew here for the entire run of the show and the subsequent film, so one can come across so many familiar locations both inside and outside the house. See where O’Brien tripped up Bates, where Kemal Pamuk’s body was moved, the dining room where delicious dialogue was served up with the food. Visit Robert Crawley’s library and the various bedrooms, and walk down the grand staircase. Enjoy lunch in one of the many restaurants here and then explore the beautiful grounds. In the basement there is a special Egyptology exhibition, thanks to the 5^th Earl of Carnarvon and his excavations in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.

We will spend around 3 hours in Highclere Castle & Grounds, before our small group day trip ends and we begin the journey back to London