A Royal Treat! Visiting Highclere Castle, “Downton Abbey”

Highclere Castle Tour

We are diehard Downton Abbey fans and have romanticized about visiting Highclere Castle, the filming location for this popular PBS television series. Highclere Castle is one of England’s most beautiful Victorian castles, often visited by locals and guests all over the world.

Here are the details from our visit to “Downton Abbey” Highclere Castlehighclere castle tour

Our dream finally came true! We booked our tickets to visit the castle at this link, click here!

After planning a trip to visit the English countryside, our daytrip to Highclere Castle was definitely a highlight. Here’s a glimpse into our visits last year, and recently this May.

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Upon arrival to the estate gates, we entered and our chauffeur from Ryan James Chauffeurs, drove us through acres of beautiful countryside to the path that leads up to the castle door. It’s as beautiful as it appears on TV!

It was as if we traveled back in time as we made our entrance through the gigantic front doors, and set foot into this famous castle. Highclere Castle has served as the Carnarvon family home since 1679.

highclere castle tour

Inside Highclere Castle, we met Lady Carnarvon who graciously welcomed us next to the iconic large fireplace in the main entrance. Countess Carnarvon is beautiful, and surprisingly “down to earth”. She has a wonderful way about her that makes you feel at ease. Her responsibilities and duties are many, including welcoming royalty and hosting charitable events.   Yet she took a few minutes to visit with us and autographed her latest books, NY Times Bestsellers – ‘Lady Almina and The Real Downton Abbey’ and ‘Lady Catherine and The Real Downton Abbey’.

Lady Carnarvon regularly writes a blog, click here, where she shares “Behind the scenes of my life and home and sharing anecdotes from my everyday life at Highclere Castle. The world of Highclere still exists with its own community of Chefs, Gardeners and Housekeepers, Colin the Butler and Jo the Groom as well as all the other people who make the ‘Real Downton Abbey’ a welcoming place for visitors today.”

During our tour, we were in awe at the architecture, the stately rooms and the centuries-old works of art and antiques.

When you visit Highclere Castle, leave plenty of time to stroll through the magnificent gardens and some of the 1,000 acres of forests.

Don’t Miss! Be sure to visit the permanent Egyptian exhibit honoring the fifth Earl of Carnarvon’s discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb with his archaeology partner Howard Carter in 1922.

Our concierge at The Four Seasons Hampshire hotel shared, “While exploring the castle and its grounds, you’ll learn about Highclere’s intriguing history and the British aristocrats who have called it home for centuries – a cast of characters as fascinating as anything you’ll ever see on television.”

Book your tickets to visit Highclere Castle/”Downtown Abbey”, click here! Note: the Castle, Gardens and Egyptian Exhibition are open at various times throughout the year.

HOW TO GET THERE?

How to Get There?

Ryan James Chauffeurs

Ryan James Chauffeurs provides luxury chauffeur services.

We experienced their excellent chauffeur service from Cliveden House to our Four Seasons Hampshire Hotel.

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Also, we were chauffeured by Ryan James Chauffeurs from our Four Seasons Hampshire Hotel to Highclere Castle the next day, and then returned us after our visit.

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For private chauffeured services, we recommend Ryan James Chauffeurs – professional, cordial, and punctual.

Director Pauline Spencer notes, “Ryan James Chauffeurs promises to make every journey a pleasure. We offer the ultimate in comfort, luxury, discretion and style regardless of occasion or circumstance. Our aim is to provide unparalleled service.”

For reservations, contact:

Ryan James Chauffeurs
07920 146405
02392 412287

Airlines

We flew Delta this trip on a direct, non-stop flight from Seattle, USA to London Heathrow. The captains and crew were fabulous!

Want to call out Monica Augustyn, Head Purser, and our chief flight attendant on this Delta flight. Her level of service is superb! She ensured we were comfortable throughout the flight and our needs were quickly attended to. She “raises the bar” for all airlines and flight attendants on how to deliver superior customer service.

highclere castle tour

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Travel Acknowledgements

Global Adventuress thanks the following who hosted us during our visit to Highclere Castle – Lady Carnarvon and her fantastic team at the castle.

Also, we want to thank Ryan James Chauffeur Services for chauffeuring us to our destinations in the English countryside and escorting us to Highclere Castle.

As always, we appreciate DK Travel for providing us with the Great Britain Eyewitness Travel Guide Book with 1,635 photographs, 135 detailed maps, and 159 illustrations to help us plan our trip, as well as the 2015 London Guidebook with 890 photos, 140 illustrations and a pull-out city map.

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BOOK THIS TRIP!

Interested in going to England?  Let us know if you need help planning a customized trip.

Email:  Info@GlobalAdventuress.com

Want to see more of the Downton Abbey Filming sites? Check out this map put together by Wayfair.co.uk and see them all!

http://www.wayfair.co.uk/aresidence/2015/12/04/downton-abbey-filming-locations/

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