Virgin Experience Days<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Whether it was for Lady Rose\u2019s ball, or trips to stay with Aunt Rosamund (that\u2019s Lady Rosamund Painswick to you and me), London has been the setting of much of the drama for Downton Abbey. Acting as a foil to the rolling countryside where we normally see the family, many aristocrats of the era would have had a London house or been a member of a club much like Lord Grantham is.<\/p>\n
And did you know London also doubled up as the location for Liverpool and Manchester in the show? On this walking tour, you\u2019ll get to see locations like the exterior of the Grantham house, and where Tom first confessed his love for Sybil, all while walking around London and hearing behind-the-scenes facts from a knowledgeable guide.<\/p>\n
Buy tickets for the Downton Abbey walking tour of London locations for two from \u00a330 at Virgin Experience Days<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
Holy Island, Alnwick Castle and Northumbria day tour from Edinburgh<\/strong><\/h3>\n $\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Get Your Guide<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
If you\u2019re Edinburgh based or on holiday in Scotland this is a great day out for any Downton Abbey lover. Alnwick Castle is the location for Brancaster Castle in the show, the seat of the Marquess of Hexham, which becomes Lady Edith\u2019s home when she marries the lovely Bertie at the end of season 6. Both the interior and exterior of the castle were used in the show, both when it was rented by Lord Sinderby, Lady Rose\u2019s slightly grumpy father-in-law, and when the family go to visit Edith once she\u2019s engaged.<\/p>\n
On this tour you\u2019ll also see the beautiful countryside of surrounding Northumberland including Lindisfarne, one of the most important setting for religion in the history of the British Isles. You\u2019ll get to visit the island and even sample some of the \u2018mead\u2019 made by monks on the island. We think Lord Grantham would approve!<\/p>\n
Buy tickets for the Holy Island, Alnwick Castle and Northumbria day tour from Edinburgh from \u00a352 at Get Your Guide<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
Downton Village, Blenheim Palace and Cotswolds tour from London<\/strong><\/h3>\n $\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Viator\/TripAdvisor<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Fans of country houses like those featured in Downton Abbey will be astonished by Blenheim Palace. The home to the Spencer-Churchill family, the house is the only non-royal palace in England and is a UNESCO world heritage site.<\/p>\n
On this tour, you\u2019ll get to explore the grounds of Blenheim, as well as several villages throughout the countryside in the Cotswolds, including Bampton, the village frequently featured in Downton Abbey. This tour leaves from London and is a really great option if you are visiting the UK for the first time and want to see the true beauty of the English countryside.<\/p>\n
Buy tickets for Downton Village, Blenheim Palace and Cotswolds tour from London for \u00a339 at Viator<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
Guided tour of Highclere Castle<\/strong><\/h3>\n $\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Unsplash\/Tim Alex<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\nIf you want to know all the behind-the-scenes secrets about filming Downton Abbey, plus the history of the historic house where the show is based, this is the tour for you. You\u2019ll get to see the rooms you recognise from the show, as well as some upstairs bedrooms and hidden rooms, as well as the Egyptology exhibit. As part of this tour you\u2019ll also get complimentary refreshments in the Tea Rooms, as well as a signed copy of Lady Carnarvon\u2019s book The Earl and the Pharaoh<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Buy tickets for a guided tour of Highclere Castle from \u00a3130 at the Highclere Castle website<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
Downton Village and Highclere Castle tour from London<\/strong><\/h3>\n $\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Viator\/TripAdvisor<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
This is a great tour for true Downton fans, plus with the journey from London included it\u2019s the ultimate no-fuss day out. First on the tour you\u2019ll visit the beautiful Cogges Manor Farm, which doubles for Yew Tree Farm in the series. Then you\u2019ll travel to Bampton, the real Downton village, before making your way to Highclere Castle to see the Abbey itself.<\/p>\n
We really like that this tour has a maximum number of 18 people which means you\u2019re sure to get a more tailored experience from your tour guide.<\/p>\n
Buy tickets for the Downton Village and Highclere Castle tour from London from \u00a3189 at Viator<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
Where is Downton Abbey and how much is open to the public?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
OK, so the bad news is that Downton Abbey isn\u2019t a real place in so much as it\u2019s not called Downton Abbey. The house with the silhouette made so iconic by ITV\u2019s series is actually Highclere Castle, a country house in Hampshire in the south of England. It\u2019s pretty easy to get to (about an hour and a half drive from central London), which is one of the reasons they chose it as a location. Since the \u2018below stairs\u2019 scenes were largely filmed in studios, it needed to be easy for cast and crew to get between locations. That\u2019s right, it\u2019s not actually in Yorkshire at all!<\/p>\n
There are options of what you can see when you buy tickets, but the standard option is for the house and gardens which gives you access to the walled gardens and grounds surrounding the house, as well as into the state rooms and some bedrooms in the house itself.<\/p>\n
Highclere Castle is open to the public on limited dates throughout the year \u2013 at the moment you can book for dates in April and May, and it usually opens for weekdays throughout the summer months.<\/p>\n
Travelling to Highclere castle by train? Check out our guide on how to get cheap train tickets<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n
How much does it cost to visit Downton Abbey?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
There are several options for how much it\u2019ll cost you to visit Downton Abbey. You can go on one of the tours we\u2019ve already mentioned, which can be a good way of paying for your ticket to the house as well as the transport to Hampshire.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve organised your own transport and just need to buy your tickets, an adult ticket for the house and gardens will set you back \u00a322.50. Since one of the Earls was an avid Egyptologist (he even played a key role in uncovering Tutankhamun\u2019s tomb), there is a permanent exhibition at Highclere Castle which you can pay an extra \u00a36.50 to see.<\/p>\n
Shop tickets for Highclere Castle\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
Can I stay at Downton Abbey?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
As Highclere Castle is still a private house, owned and lived in by the Canarvon family, members of the public can\u2019t stay there.<\/p>\n
But, there are a couple of houses on the Highclere estate that are available to rent for holidays including the Grotto Lodge<\/a> which you can rent for the weekend, and London Lodge<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Can you visit the Downton Abbey village?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Much like the house, Downton village isn\u2019t a real place, but rather a collection of locations brought together by good old-fashioned movie magic. The Cotswolds were used in place of the Yorkshire countryside for the scenic beauty, and the fact that many of the historic houses are listed, meaning they don\u2019t have too many modern additions and can be made easily to look like the early 1900s.<\/p>\n
The village of Bampton was used for the majority of the shots of Downton Village, and several of the tours we\u2019ve included feature a visit. This includes St Mary the Virgin church which was the site of several Downton Abbey weddings (and one almost wedding!) and Churchgate House, which doubles for Mrs Crawley\u2019s house in the series.<\/p>\n
There are other locations that were used to make up the Downton estate, like Cogges Manor Farm which is a few miles from Bampton, which was used as the location for Yew Tree Farm where Mr Mason and later Daisy and Andrew lived in the later seasons and films.<\/p>\n
Check out our Going Out section for other ideas for days (and nights) out. We\u2019ve got everything from how to get last-minute Six Nations tickets<\/a> to\u00a0 Wireless Festival tickets<\/a>. If you\u2019re interested in historic architecture like at Highclere Castle, check out our guide to the best Cambridge punting tours<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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