Step into the upstairs downstairs world of the Crawley family on this fascinating Downton Abbey Tour! Setting off from central London on a coach this tour will whisk you away from the city and into the picturesque Oxfordshire countryside to see some of the locations used to film the successful ITV series Downton Abbey – including Highclere House!
The hugely popular period drama created by writer Julian Fellowes is set during the reign of King George V starting in 1912 and following the lives and loves of the aristocrats and the servants through the Post-Edwardian years. Although set in the fictional Downton Abbey in Yorkshire many of the locations featured on this tour are actually in Oxfordshire villages so that’s where you’ll be heading first.
This comprehensive full day tour starts with a visit to ‘Downton Village’ otherwise known as Bampton village. This is where you’ll be shown the Downton hospital the village pub and Matthew Crawley’s former home as well as the local church and Post Office. You’ll also see the lovely house where Isobel Crawley lives.
As you tour the village your enthusiastic guide will show you stills of Downton Abbey scenes featuring the locations you’re looking at. It’s amazing to see how much time and effort the production team puts into transforming these buildings into the period properties with all the fine details totally on point!
After Bampton it’s back on the coach for the next part of your Downton tour. You will be visiting Highclere Castle which played the role of the family seat of the Crawley family. In real life it’s home to Lord and Lady Canarvon and it’s as stately and grand as you’d expect. The tour includes entry to the house and you’ll have plenty of time to explore this quintessentially English country estate.
As you’ll be at Highclere for around three hours you can even enjoy a light lunch or a cream tea in the castle’s delightful tea rooms located in the stable yard. Before hopping back on the coach to London make sure you take time to have a stroll around the gardens to round off your Downton Abbey tour. Beyond the finely manicured lawns you’ll find the Monk’s the Walled and the Secret Gardens. Just stunning!
