Downton Abbey Countryside Day Excursion

Fans of the Downton Abbey TV series, we will understand if you hog the attention of your historian guide all the way, but keep your eyes peeled for the sights of Royal Berkshire and the Cotswolds region, an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Sheep-studded hills, rural farmsteads, blues skies, you get the drift.

Downton devotes will find ye ancient market town of Bampton (it has appeared in every series since 2001) familiar. All the usual suspects that you expect are present, including Downton Church, Downton Cottage Hospital, the Crawley family home plus the Grantham Arms and Dog and Duck pubs. Peek into every alley in this charming hamlet, we won’t leave without you.

Daydream awhile over lunch at the riverside Swan Inn in Swinbrook village (where Lady Sybil and Branson stayed to plan their elopement). The next stop is Cogges, on the River Windrush and its historic manor house, which was the setting for Downton Abbey’s Yew Tree Farm. Lady Edith’s illegitimate daughter Marigold was being brought up here. Linger at Shilton’s 18th-century humped-back bridge next to a bubbling brook and make yourself comfortable at the Red Lion Pub where Mr. Bates went to work. Planning a rerun when you get home, aren’t you?

We can pre-book skip-the-line Castle tickets for you.