Downton Abbey Filming Locations You Can Visit in Real Life
Downton Abbey has been off the air for years now, but fans of the period drama continue to visit its filming locations in droves. And there's no doubt that the new film adaption will inspire additional Downton enthusiasts to seek out the real-life destinations that serve as the backdrop for the Crawley family's story.
From Highclere Castle, the show's central majestic estate, to Bampton, a small town in West Oxfordshire, which stands in for the local village, here are the Downton Abbey filming locations worth planning a trip around.
Highclere Castle
What you recognize it as: The titular Downton Abbey.
Highclere Castle, a stunning Jacobethan-style mansion in Hampshire, England serves as the Crawley family's estate, the backdrop to drama both upstairs and down, and the source of many a plot point in the Downton Abbey story. Highclere is the home of Lord and Lady Carnarvon, but during the summer months, it's open five days a week to the public. Visitors can explore the gardens, peek inside the library, and take a tour of the bedrooms, just don't try to snap a photo inside.
"It's an amazing and magical place I hope, and our guides are wonderful," Lady Carnarvon tells T&C.
"I ask people to switch off their phones, not to take photographs and to talk to the guides and to see with their own eyes, not behind the lens of a funny machine."
For tickets and more information, visit the Highclere Castle website.
Bampton
What you recognize it as: Downton Village
A number of scenes over course of the show's six-season run were shot in Bampton, and fans who visit the quaint Oxfordshire village will be sure to recognize sites like the church, the post office, and the grammar school as locations from the show. If you're in town, you'll want to stop by the Bampton Community Archive, which served as the hospital on-screen, and hosts memorabilia from the filming of Downton Abbey.
"The series over the years has had a very positive effect on Bampton and last year more than 30,000 fans came to visit the Old Grammar School, where we sell souvenirs and our own Downton memorabilia," Bampton Community Archive chairman Robin Shuckburgh told the Oxford Times in 2017. "The total number of visitors was about 10,000 more than the previous two years." In total, these tourists raised more than £100,000 toward the restoration of the historic school building.
Stars of the show including Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, and Samantha Bond have also contributed to the effort, but the generosity goes both ways.
"Normally, you know, when filming comes the first day everyone's terribly excited—'wee isn't this thrilling'—and then by about the third month people get fed up with it," show creator Julian Fellowes said of the Bampton citizens in December of 2015. "But they have remained supportive and hospitable right through the whole filming period."
More information on how you can visit Bampton, right this way.
Lincoln Castle
What you recognize it as: Bates's prison
You may not want to relive this particular Downton Abbey memory, but the shots of Mr. Bates in prison during season three were filmed at this landmark in York. In addition to getting a Downton fix, visitors to the castle can also see an original 1215 Magna Carta. Tickets are available online, here.
Cogges Manor Farm
What you'll recognize it as: Yew Tree Farm
Scenes at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Drewe and later Mr. Mason were filmed at this working historic farm in Oxfordshire. Visitors hoping to see some animals should plan on a weekend trip. The farm offers "Meet the Animals" events at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. every weekend.
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