The hit television series Downton Abbey depicts the fictional lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their estate employees during the post-Edwardian era in England. From 2010 through 2015, the historical period drama aired six seasons on PBS (all of which can now be streamed on PBS Passport). This year, the Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning story is coming to cinema screens with one final installment: a feature-length film, which hits U.S. theaters on September 20.
While the show’s namesake countryside estate only exists in this fictional story, you can visit some of the settings you see onscreen. Here are a few of the Downton Abbey filming locations in England where you can live like a lord or a lady—even if just for the day.
Roam the royal grounds at Highclere Castle
A vast majority of filming for Downton Abbey took place at Highclere Castle, a Gothic-style palace in the bucolic county of Berkshire, England (about 90 minutes by car from London). This stately 19th-century manor—which has been the seat of the real-life Earl of Carnarvon for more than two centuries—was little changed for scenes in the show and upcoming feature film. Throughout September and October 2019, a special “Real Lives and Film Sets” guided tour will allow small groups of up to 20 visitors to nose around the castle rooms where memorable Downton Abbey scenes were shot, such as the central salon, where characters from the show often met to socialize. After exploring the grandiose state rooms, staircases, and cellars, guests will enjoy traditional finger sandwiches and scones in the Coach House Tea Room, prepared by the castle’s head chef. Each person on the special tour will receive a newly published collection of “recipes and traditions from the real Downton Abbey” written by Lady Carnarvon, who currently resides in the Victorian-era manor. Tickets cost £125 (US$155) and can be booked online.
Multiple scenes from the television series and upcoming feature film were filmed at Highclere Castle in Berkshire.
Courtesy of Carnival Film & Television Ltd
During summer, Highclere Castle can also be explored on visits unrelated to Downton Abbey. Through September 3, 2019, entry to the castle and gardens costs £16 for adults (US$20) and £11 for children (US$14). However, Highclere Castle is closed on Fridays and Saturdays—ticketed admission is only granted Sunday through Thursday.
Sleep like the Dowager Countess at Byfleet Manor
Fans of the Crawley family matriarch, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, can relive some of the character’s most entertaining moments at Byfleet Manor in Surrey, England. Located in a historic, hilly region southwest of London, this delightful manor—the real-life setting for the show’s Dower House–dates to the 1600s, although most of its current architecture stems from a renovation in 1905. The 6,000-square-foot property features eight bedrooms surrounded by 19 acres of land. You can email the current owners to book a stay in one of Byfleet Manor’s 19th-century West Wing rooms or reserve a private afternoon tea in the same room where Downton Abbey scenes were filmed. (Prices vary per inquiry.)
England’s Oxfordshire Cotswolds region is filled with villages full of heritage sites, among them the village of Bampton.
Photo by Peter Jarvis/Alamy
Visit the real-life Downton village in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds
England’s charming Cotswolds region is home to the quintessential village of Bampton, which doubles onscreen as the fictional Downton settlement on the outskirts of the Crawley family’s estate. Located approximately two hours from London by car, the tiny town receives “coach loads” of daily visitors who arrive eager to snap pictures of the real-life Downton Abbey filming location. Still, the best way to enjoy Bampton—which is one of Britain’s oldest settlements, dating back to the Iron Age—is to enjoy a slightly longer stay. Head to the nearly 1,000-year-old St. Mary’s Church (where Lady Edith almost got hitched to Sir Anthony during season three) and the old Grammar School Building (where the show’s hospital scenes with Dr. Clarkson were filmed) before wandering Bampton’s streets lined with sandstone cottages draped in ivy, reminiscent of the show’s fictional Downton village homes.
The 14th-century Cogges Manor Farm appeared in “Downton Abbey” as the Drewe family farm.
Photo by Martin Anderson/Alamy
Approximately eight miles north of Bampton in the Cotswolds town of Witney, the 14th-century Cogges Manor Farm is where scenes at the Yew Tree Farm, owned by the Drewe family, were filmed for Downton Abbey. (This is where Lady Edith’s baby scandal plays out during season five.) Until November 3 this year, visitors can stop by the farm to feed and pet resident goats and sheep, watch ducks potter about in the gardens, and enjoy tea and cake from the delicious on-property café. Tickets cost £6.50 for adults (US$8) and £4.50 for children (US$6). To further discover England’s idyllic Oxfordshire Cotswolds region, the local tour company Undiscovered Cotswolds runs fantastic day trips departing from the nearby cities of London, Bath, Oxford, and Southampton. (Starting points for specific tours can be arranged in other areas. Small-group and private trips can be booked online.)
Explore London like a lord or a lady
During later seasons of Downton Abbey, some of the show’s action takes place in London. In the central Westminster district, the facade of Bridgewater House—a private residence that appears as the exterior of the Crawley family’s London residence, known as Grantham House—is clearly visible near Buckingham Palace and Green Park. Unfortunately, Bridgewater House is a privately owned home and is not open to the public for tours—but it’s worth a stroll past the regal building as you explore the area near London’s Royal Parks. (Downton Abbey scenes that depict the interiors of Grantham House were shot at Basildon Park in Berkshire, the same county west of London where Highclere Castle is located. Owned by the National Trust, this filming location does offer bookable guided tours.)
The Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens is a well-known London landmark that commemorates Prince Albert’s death in 1861.
Photo by Paul Watts/Shutterstock
Another Downton Abbey filming location near Westminster’s Green Park that you can’t tour—but you can photograph from outside—is the government-owned Lancaster House, a neo-classical mansion once part of St. James’s Palace. This 19th-century building depicts the interiors of Buckingham Palace during a 2013 Downton Abbey special in which Lady Rose was presented to the king. (Not far from Green Park in Kensington Gardens, the Albert Memorial is where Cora Crawley’s brother takes Madeleine Allsopp for a picnic during that same episode.) A short walk from Lancaster House on the nearest corner of Green Park, The Ritz London is a five-star hotel that’s historic in its own right (it was built in 1906). It’s also notable as the Central London location where many scenes from the series finale of Downton Abbey were filmed.
Take a stroll like a noble at Syon Park
On your way out of London, visit the 200-acre Syon Park, which served as the setting for an important scene between Lady Mary and Lord Gillingham during Downton Abbey’s season four. Through October 27 this year, travelers can visit the glass-dome Great Conservatory—designed in the 1820s—and the sprawling garden grounds in Greater London. The Syon House, Garden, and Great Conservatory are all part of the real-life Duke of Northumberland’s 600-year-old estate, less than 20 minutes from Heathrow Airport by car. (See hours and ticket pricing online.)
Another palatial English estate owned by the Duke of Northumberland appears onscreen in Downton Abbey: Alnwick Castle, which depicts the show’s fictional Brancaster Castle. This impressive property in northern England sits close to the border with Scotland, so once you’re here it’s worth continuing on to visit Downton Abbey filming locations in other parts of the United Kingdom. One such stop is at Inveraray Castle in Argyll, Scotland, which was used to shoot scenes in the fictional Duneagle Castle—where the Grantham family stayed in a 2012 episode during a trip to the spectacular Scottish Highlands.
Celebrate the film’s release with these special trips and stays
The travel industry is hopping on board to celebrate the big-screen debut of Downton Abbey, from quick adventures at 20th-century estates to full-fledged itineraries across the United Kingdom.
Belmond British Pullman
The legendary Belmond British Pullman train announced special day trips dedicated to Downton Abbey for two days in 2020. On March 18 and September 23, the restored luxury carriages—which date back to the 1920s and 1930s—will travel from London Victoria Station to Highclere Castle, where passengers will receive a private, guided tour of the 20th-century estate and its gardens in addition to three-course meals and champagne toasts. (Tickets cost approximately $716 per person.)
Airbnb
The accommodation booking website is making one of the lavish guest rooms at Highclere Castle available to two lucky guests for an overnight stay on November 26, 2019. There’s only one reservation available for this unique Airbnb listing (from approximately $187). Learn how to snag it here.
Zicasso
This 10-day “Downton Abbey Movie Tour” features stops across England including London, Windsor, the Cotswolds, and Yorkshire. The customizable itinerary visits Downton Abbey filming locations such as Bridgewater House, the Ritz Hotel, Highclere Castle, and Windsor Castle. It also includes a visit to Harewood House in the Yorkshire Moors, which was used as a filming location for the movie. From $3,995 per person (based on a private group of four)
Original Travel
A new eight-day “Downton Abbey Tour of the UK” itinerary takes travelers to various 20th-century sites from the TV series and film. The private group trip kicks off in Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, and includes guided stops at Alnwick Castle, Highclere Castle, Cogges Farm, Byfleet Manor, the village of Bampton, and the Harewood House, before the Downton Abbey tour comes to a close in London. From $31,946 per couple (based on a private group of two)
Inspired to visit more castles? Europe is full of medieval castles you can visit that may not all feature in movies but are well worth a trip.
This article originally appeared online in July 2019; it was updated on September 18, 2019, to include current information.
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