The real Downton Abbey

As the third season of Downton Abbey begins on ITV (my British FB friends smugly keep pointing this fact out weekly), the rest of us around the world sit in front our tellies with a pack of chocolate biscuits and the kettle ready drooling in front of TV and listening out for that signature piano tinkle.

However in lieu of actually having the real thing to watch, I was in Blighty recently and asked, neigh forced, husband to make a slight variation whilst in the Wiltshire countryside. Actually our host from the previous evening had suggested we visit Highclere Castle aka Downton Abbey since she is friends with the owners of Highclere Castle and has on more than one occasion taken tea there. “Oh yeah, who’s that?” I asked her intrigued. It turns out Highclere has multiple personalities. It’s in the Carnarvon family. Who? The 5th Earl of Carnarvon was with Howard Carter in 1922 when they discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb.

Tutankhamun! Brilliant. A telly show upstairs, an Egyptian treasure trove downstairs! No room for the owners among the dusty old relics, the Downton day core and the walls lined with portraits. They live somewhere else on the property according to one of the stoic and matronly looking types who work the downstairs study. Their castle for part of the year is overtaken with hordes of British tire kickers who are shipped in tour bus after tour bus – most with an average age of 85. Given their progressing years actually walking around the rooms of Highclere makes for a slow journey. It wasn’t really built for wheelchairs and the stairwell to the upper level is the straw that broke the camel’s back for many!

I was quietly humming that famous intro title as we came upon Downton Abbey on a sunny September day. We were greeted by a car park chocker full of SUVs, e-type Jags and old men sitting on fold out chairs with a flask of tea clearly bored and leaving their wives to it while they tuned in to the 2.35pm at Doncaster. Undeterred, I soldiered on, even shelling out £32 for myself and husband to give the castle the once over. On a stunning sunny day, it’s just like on telly. The grounds are huge and you can meander to your heart’s content. Post castle tour, there’s makeshift tea and cake eateries littering the back of Highclere Castle. The turnover alone on scones must go some way to the upkeep of this awesome property.

Inside it’s a mish mash of old and some new – new being recent family snaps of the Carnarvon family adorning side tables. They sit alongside picture cards of people like Hugh Bonneville with a caption stating that you are currently standing in his study in the tv show. Despite it feeling large and grandiose I can sympathise with the series directors as there must be limited space shooting on set, especially in the upstairs bedrooms.

Once downstairs, you sink into the murky, bricked depths of the castle, the official website describes it as the cellar. This is where the staff once used to work. The actual set for Downton’s staff is filmed at Ealing studios in London. In fact check out the Downton Abbey Red Nose Comedy special (see below) with Joanna Lumley, Kim Cattrall, Jennifer Saunders and raft of other celebs who take over the set in a hilarious version of the show and poke fun at the two different shooting locations.
In Highclere’s cellar you’re shown the story of Lord Carnarvon and his expensive and long quest to find ancient treasures in Egypt. He managed to get his hands on a lot of the booty from Tutankhamun’s tomb – most of the good stuff however is in the Cairo Museum. Emerging out into the grounds of Highclere, I wondered if Dame Maggie Smith was hiding around the corner at one of the tea rooms all pokerfaced, leaning on her cane and aghast at the mass of commoners who had descended upon Downton. While the tour is probably not a good substitute for the show, it got me excited for the upcoming series and respectful of the Carnarvon family who has opened up Highclere for public viewing and probably to turn an extra bob or two. Yes, quite!