Lady Carnarvon, the owner of Highclere Castle – aka Downton Abbey – shares her tips on what to see to get the best of Hampshire and Oxfordshire, slowly…
For me, the best thing about living at Highclere is the views out to nature, the countryside and trees. It’s beautiful. People visiting want to look inside, whereas I’m constantly looking out. I suggest people take time out – don’t hurry; sit and have a coffee, wander around the castle and the gardens. Take time to look, listen, be with your friends. A good thing about the location is its ease from London or Oxford.
Include Stonehenge, about 40 minutes away, and Hungerford, just west of us. It is a market town on the Kennet and Avon Canal and somewhere to potter in its antiques and bookshop. I’m a huge Jane Austen fan, so I also love going to Jane Austen’s House in Chawton where she wrote most of her books, which inspired so many films, dreams and hopes, particularly of women. So that ticks a big box for me.
I’d suggest visiting Oxford, with its dreaming spires. It’s a good place to base yourself. Then it depends whether you want to go further west to Bath, into the Cotswolds, or down to Cornwall. In the Cotswolds, you’ll find the cutest, honey-coloured villages imaginable, including Broadway and Burford. But all the towns and villages there are enchanting, so you can just stop when you see a nice pub.
For another stately home, I’d recommend visiting Blenheim Palace, which is a wonderful place to visit. Not far from Oxford, the UNESCO World Heritage site is the birthplace of Winston Churchill.
There’s a route called Wayfarer’s Walk, which is a 70 mile (113km) way starting up on the chalk downs above Highclere and ending at the sea. That is rather wonderful, if you’re feeling energetic.
There’s a very nice restaurant called Eliane in Hungerford, which has the most amazing salads and delicious food, so you can have lots to eat, but it’s really healthy. It inspires me to cook better at home. Then I’d recommend going on a pub crawl – near to the castle is the Carnarvon Arms, which has good fish and chips, The Hare & Hounds in Newbury and The Wellington Arms, a very nice pub with delicious food and its own garden.
If you’re looking for special places in the region, there’s an amazing hotel called Heckfield Place, which is very special, and the Four Seasons Hampshire, both very upmarket hotels. Otherwise, people tend to stay in pubs.
It depends on you – Highclere is open much of the year and very busy in summer. Many people love to visit in summer, but Christmas is also magical when we have lots of special events, including tours, teas, carols, Champagne evenings and performances. It’s lovely.
Plan your trip. I’d say please don’t leave it until the last moment to book tickets, so you can be assured of getting in. You can buy tickets nine months to a year in advance and we ask everyone to prebook. We expect to be very busy after the film Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale comes out.
Don’t blindly follow your sat nav when driving around the English countryside. Keep an eye out for road signs, otherwise you’ll get taken to the wrong location and drive around in circles. There was a TV producer who came to Highclere once and followed his sat nav, which took him to a farm entrance and down a track, where he ended up getting stuck in a field and we had to tow him out. It was very embarrassing for him, but we thought it hysterically funny.
As the eighth and current Countess of Carnarvon reigning, Lady Fiona Carnarvon was inspired to share the true story of Highclere Castle’s conversion to a hospital during WWI. Highclere is the real-life setting for Masterpiece’s Downton Abbey. Using diaries, letters, and photos straight out of the Edwardian era, she produced Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey. Contact WWSG to host her for a speaking opportunity.
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