The Downton Abbey Tour: Highclere Castle and the Village of Bampton

I am so excited to write this post. I am a massive Downton Abbey fan, I will openly admit that. I wish it wasn't so soap opera-y and I wish Julian Fellowes would stop killing characters, but otherwise I LOVE everything about this show. In fact, if I knew how to do it, I would have the Downton Abbey theme song playing in the background as you read this post!

This post is a combination of two trips. Back in 2012, when we first made arrangements with British Heritage Chauffeur Tours to see the countryside, my parents and I visited Highclere Castle (aka Downton Abbey). For some reason, I never got around the blogging about this amazing day. On this trip, our last stop before returning to London, was the town of Bampton (aka the town of Downton). I thought that this was the ideal way to share my uber nerdy Downton Abbey fangirl adventure with you all! I have included my own personal pictures of Highclere Castle and Bampton, whilst also including pictures I found on google of either scenes from the show or shots of filming. 

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A bit of history on Highclere Castle: it is a "country house in the Jacobethan style, with a park designed by Capability Brown. The 5,000 acre estate is in Hampshire, England, about 5 miles south of Newbury, Berkshire. It is the country seat of the Earl of Carnarvon, a branch of he Anglo-Welsh Herbert Family."(Wikipedia) Currently, the 8th Earl of Carnarvon and his family reside at Highclere Castle.

Did you know that Highclere Castle has been used as a film location in other film and television shows?! Although Downton Abbey has made Highclere Castle an icon, recognizable to many, this is not the first time the house has been on screen. Highclere has been featured in films such as the 1982 comedy staring Michael Palin, The Missionary, as well as the 1999 film Eyes Wide Shut, and the 2002 film The Four Feathers. On a personal note, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Highclere Castle was also featured in one of my favorite TV programs --- Jeeves & Wooster, starring my beloved Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry! Yes, in Jeeves & Wooster, Highclere Castle is used for "Totleigh Towers."

Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster in "Jeeves and Wooster"
(sorry for the low quality picture! --- taken from google)
Filming Downton Abbey at Highclere
(taken from google)

Now, when you approach Highclere Castle from the parking lot and you walk along that gravel road, it's like magic. Seeing that huge house, glistening in the sun, beckoning you to explore. I could just picture the cast of Downton, dressed in character, waiting outside of the house to welcome me. If only that had really happened!

Inside the house, you are not supposed to take photographs, but that didn't stop me. Thank goodness for iPhones. Sneaky and resourceful. When I wasn't overwhelmed with excitement, I did my best to subtly take photographs of the interior of Highclere Castle!
The library
Lord Grantham's desk. I loved that they had this poster of Hugh Bonneville, which describes the importance of this desk to his character in the show. 
A screenshot of the library from Downton Abbey (from google)
I was actually quite surprised by how small Highclere Castle is. I mean, don't get me wrong, it is still a huge country manor, but somehow, it seems so much bigger on television!
I took a picture of the entrance hall from the second floor
This is the best picture I could find of the entrance hall as Downton

One of the most exciting moments of the tour was seeing the "Red Bedroom." I want to say this is the room where "the Turk" met his fate...
The Red room is not as exciting without Theo James...
Why hello there, Theo James aka Kemal Pamuk
(taken from google)

And who can forget the grand staircase. I don't know about you, but I love this staircase. Every time I see it on Downton, I get a little bit excited. It is so beautifully designed and carved, plus I love the contrast of the deep red carpet against the wood. 
Lord Grantham and Lady Mary descend the stairs 
(taken from google)

Our last stop in the house was the dining room, which is used as the dining room in the show. In this room, there was an exhibit about Highclere Castle during WWI. Like it's fictional counterpart, Highclere Castle saw service during the Great War. Whereas Downton Abbey served as a convalescence home for injured soldiers, Highclere Castle served as a major orthopaedic hospital! Since my father is an orthopaedic surgeon, he was delighted to learn that and he ended up elaborating on a lot of the history, which was on display. He told me about the numerous orthopaedic techniques (fracture care, surgery) that were pioneered during this period and how they evolved over time. He even told me about some techniques that he learned as a resident that may have been developed at Highclere Castle! How cool is that?! 
The dining room today at Highclere Castle
The dining room of Downton Abbey

In addition to the house, we explored the grounds, which are quite extensive and very beautiful. Near the main house, is a secret garden, bursting with beautiful plants. My mother really enjoyed wandering the garden.
They film a fair amount by this tree
The secret garden
Interesting garden design

Needless to say, visiting Highclere Castle was AMAZING. My parents and I were on cloud nine! Throughout the tour, we would constantly say, "hey remember when [insert scene, character, event] happened here!" or "wouldn't it be amazing if the actors just appeared in costume!" We really had a blast. This was probably one of my favorite places I have ever visited in England. 
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As I mentioned earlier, on this trip, we visited the village of Bampton, which is where the exterior shots and the town of Downton is filmed. Funny to think that what is supposed to be Yorkshire is actually Oxfordshire!
The village of Dowton
(image taken from google)
The village of Bampton

When we visited Bampton, I knew nothing about it's history. I knew that Downton was filmed here and I quickly could see why. It is very small and quaint and still maintains its rustic charm. After doing some searching on the internet, I learned that Bampton can trance its roots all the way back to the Iron Age and the Roman period! It later became an important city for the Anglo Saxons and during the medieval period. Fast forward substantially, during the Second World War, Bampton was home to many American GIs. Despite all of this history, Bampton will most likely always be remembered as the fictional town of Downton.

You can probably imagine my family's excitement when we arrived in Bampton. Our chauffeur mentioned that visiting the village would be a possibility, depending on time, but I wasn't sure if we were going to make it. Between Avebury to Bampton, I was fast asleep in the car, but I was awakened by the Downton Abbey theme song. I was a bit confused and groggy, but when I looked outside the car window, I realized where I had arrived and my excitement was through the roof!

Like kids in a candy score, my parents and I eagerly explored the main area of Bampton, where filming occurs. Cameras out, we were photography fiends!
I was so excited to see Isobel Crawley's house. It's actually quite large in real life.
I found this picture online of the crew filming outside of the Crawley house.
Here we have the town church. When we were there, all of the church signs read "Bampton"
I stumbled upon this picture on google, which is clearly taken from filming
Here we have the Bampton library. In Downton Abbey, this building is the village hospital. 
Again, another shot from google. You can see that the library sign has been replaced with this "Downton Cottage Hospital" sign.

This building, is used as the Downton post office

If you watch Downton Abbey, you may recognize this patch of green. On the show, the characters are always walking back and forth through this little area. I have to tell you, this patch of green is TINY. As in, shockingly tiny. Our chauffeur told us that they filmed the whole carnival scene (from season 1, I believe) at this very spot and honestly, I have no idea how! The magic of the camera, I suppose...
Filming in front go the church and on the grassy area
(taken from google)

What can I say? Mission accomplished? I can now proudly say that I have visited both Downton Abbey and the town of Downton! All that's missing is the London set where they film the downstairs scenes of the show. If you have time, Bampton is a bit off the radar, but it is worth a visit. The village seems quite small, we didn't really walk around but drove through it, and the area that they film is all near each other. I think the whole "film set" from one end to the other is about a 2 minute walk. Who knows, maybe you'll visit Bampton whilst they are filming! :D If you are fortunate to stumble upon filming, please say hello to the cast for me, especially Hugh Bonneville and Jim Carter! (I absolutely adore them). 


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