<\/p>\n
Hightailing it Off to Highclere <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thursday, July 16, 2015: Hightailing it Off to Highclere Castle—and Bampton —and Wolvercote, near Oxford! I have wanted to visit Highclere Castle for years\u2014at least five years\u2014and finally the day had dawned when we would make yet another dream come true! The sprawling estate is the setting of the fictional world of Downton Abbey… <\/p>\n
\nCastle—and Bampton —and Wolvercote, near Oxford!
\nhave wanted to visit Highclere Castle for years\u2014at least five years\u2014and finally
\nthe day had dawned when we would make yet another dream come true! The
\nsprawling estate is the setting of the fictional world of Downton Abbey<\/i> to which Llew and I have become attached over the past
\nfive years. Occupied over the centuries by the families of the Earls of
\nCarnavron, it became the preferred location site for the series because writer
\nJulian Fellows happened to be a friend of the current Earl. After having
\nsuccessfully produced Gosford Park<\/i>,
\nset on another English country estate, he always hoped that his next venture
\nwould be set in Highclere. The opportunity presented itself when he launched Downton<\/i>. No one ever dreamed it would
\nbecome the runaway global megahit it became\u2014but it has put Highclere Castle on
\nthe map and saved the ageing building from decline. Revenue that has poured in
\nsince the current aristocrats opened the doors of their home to the public is
\nbeing ploughed back into the estate and I was pleased to be a party to its redemption.
\nis a nightmare if you do not own a set of wheels. I had done a lot of research
\nto try to find a way to get there by public coach from Victoria in London; but
\ncoaches go at odd hours and stop in faraway Newbury from where the tourist is
\nexpected to take a taxi to get to the estate. Furthermore, all available online
\ntickets for the entire summer season had been sold out. I had entered into
\ncorrespondence with the estate office and been informed that if I were to
\narrive at the Box Office by 10.00 am, there was a chance I could purchase a few
\nof the \u201climited number of day tickets\u201d that are made available for entry into
\nthe house no earlier than 2.00 pm. However, there were no guarantees\u2014and the
\nvisitor arriving without a ticket takes his\/her chances. <\/span>
\naccommodating friend Bash comes in. Over the years. readers of this blog would
\nhave become familiar with his name\u2014for he has gamely chauffeured me to faraway
\nreaches all over the English countryside\u2014from Leeds and Hever Castles in Kent
\nto Hidcote Manor Gardens in Oxfordshire and Wisley Royal Gardens outside
\nLondon. Because he is an easy conversationalist, he is also charming company.
\nWhile in the past we have taken driving excursions together, this time Llew
\nwould be joining us, of course. Bash also informed me that he would be bringing a
\nfriend with him\u2014someone with whom he had just become acquainted. She turned out
\nto be a woman named Chandrika and having awoken early, gulped down a cup of
\ncoffee, taken the Tube from Holborn in order to meet him in North London
\noutside Northholt Tube station, it was here that we would meet both him and
\nChandrika. <\/span> <\/span>
\n\u2018Downton\u2019:
\nus approximately one and a half hours. It is clearly signposted after Newbury
\non the A34 and time flew swiftly as we discussed a number of topics. By the
\ntime we arrived at the Castle grounds, it was just before 10.00 am. Bash drove
\nthe car into the wide sweep of driveway leading to the main door from where we
\nreceived our first glimpses of the lovely regal building comprising Highclere
\nCastle designed by Charles Barry in the mid-1800s. If the spires that jut out
\nof the turrets from the four corners of the main tower seem to you to resemble
\nthe Houses of Parliament in London, it is because Barry designed them too!
\nassistant assured us that there was no need to run\u2014\u201cthere are loads of
\ntickets\u201d, he said. I was aghast. Why then had we been made to believe that they
\nwere near-impossible to get? Why are they not made available online? What\u2019s the
\npoint of putting off a whole lot of visitors who might not be willing to take
\ntheir chances? I was baffled.
\npounds each\u2014they included access to the House, Gardens and the Special
\nExhibition on the Search For and the Finding Of the Tomb of Tutankhamun which
\nhad been accomplished by the Fifth Earl of Carnavron in 1922 through his
\npatronage of the archaeologist Howard Carter. Having seen the entire collection
\nof Tutankhamun treasures at the National Museum of Cairo in Egypt, a few years
\nago, we thought it would be terrific to revisit the hoard.
\nmarked for a 10. 40 am entry. This meant that we were basically the second
\nbatch of visitors entering the Castle for the day. We queued up with a bunch of
\nother guests at the main door (often featured in the series as the spot where
\nvisitors come in and leave to a reception or send-off from the entire
\nDownstairs staff). Once inside the small foyer, we were ushered to the left and
\ninformed repeatedly that photography and videotaping is strictly prohibited in
\nthe House\u2014outside one is free to take any number of pictures. This probably has
\nto do with the fact that the current Earl and his family still continue to live
\nat Highclere and the upstairs bedrooms are occupied by them and their guests
\nyear-round.
\n\u201cDouble Library\u201d that any fan of DA will instantly recognize. It is the spot at
\nwhich Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) is often seen attending to his business
\naffairs, meeting with Chief of Staff Carson or bending down to stroke his
\nyellow lab Isis. There are guides in each room ready, willing and able to
\nanswer questions and we asked several. Laminated handouts, also available in
\neach room, provide details about the most significant decorative elements in
\nthe rooms\u2014such as paintings above fireplaces, or embroidered panels (as we saw
\nin the smaller library). The Larger room that comprises the library is equally
\ninteresting: architecturally and from the point of view of Downton<\/i> locations. As Llew and I walked through the rooms at our
\nleisure, we commented frequently on our recognition of special corners of the
\nhouse. And as if to remind us continually that this is not Downton Abbey<\/i> but actually Highclere Castle where a real,
\nnon-fictional family live, there are countless family pictures of the current
\nLord and Lady of the Manor and their children, pets and relatives scattered all
\nover the house. The tour wound its way to the Living Room also seen frequently in
\nthe series as the spot where the ladies assemble over tea or coffee. It has
\nbeautiful soft green furnishings and a few significant paintings. <\/span>
\nthe bedrooms that are located around one of the most interesting architectural
\nfeatures I have ever seen in a country manor\u2014the quadrangular central balcony
\nthat wraps around the house internally, provides bedrooms on all fours sides and
\ncreates corridors through which occupants and servants can access these rooms.
\nBending down over the balcony, one sees the main Hall called the Salon, also a
\nfrequent setting in the series. We peeped into many bedrooms including ones
\nused by the Dowager Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith) in the series and saw a
\nnumber of bathrooms\u2014some old, others modernized. Most of the rooms and their
\nfurnishing are in fabulous condition considering how much it must cost for the
\nupkeep of such a home and its contents. We were allowed to move along at our
\nleisure and at no point did we feel stressed or hurried. Crowds were great.
\nMost are elderly viewers; most are English; most come to the spot on conducted
\ntours that follow a course that goes through many of the neighboring sites of
\nthe series\u2014not just Highclere Castle.
\nupstairs bedrooms, we descended the beautiful stone staircase with its wooden
\nbalustrade. <\/span>The upstairs corridors, the bedrooms
\nand the house in general seemed much smaller to me in real life than they do in
\nthe series. They also seemed much darker. It is clear that excellent
\nprofessional lighting in the TV series makes them come alive in a way that is
\nnot possible in real life.
\nat the Salon to take in the marble fireplaces, the furnishings, etc. and to
\nview still more contemporary photos of the current owners. We then trooped into
\nthe last main room\u2014the piece de
\nresistance<\/i> of the house, its Dining Room. This is where the Granthams are
\nseen eating three times a day: buffet breakfasts, casual lunches, formal
\ndinners. The dining table looked very small and we were informed that it comes
\nwith 12 leaves\u2014that can be added depending on the number of diners and that a number
\nof shield-back chairs can also be added at that stage. None of the chairs
\nmatched\u2014which I thought was interesting. Of course, in this room, the single
\nmost arresting feature is the equestrian painting of King Charles I by Anthony
\nVan Dyke which dominates one wall and is seen in most dining room shots in the
\nseries. Flanking it are other portraits by Van Dyke\u2014of the two Stuart brothers,
\nboth Royalists who fought on the Cavalier side during the Civil War and ended
\nup killed. There are many other important paintings in this room and we spent a
\ngreat deal of time here.
\nat Highclere:
\nchose not to buy tickets to the Egyptian exhibition, Llew and I made our way
\n\u201cDownstairs\u201d to the labyrinth of corridors that contained the story of the
\ndiscovery of the Treasures of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt\u2014one
\nof history\u2019s most significant finds ever. We learned a lot about the interest
\nin Egypt and in antiquities of the Fifth Earl of Carnavron who had almost given
\nup looking for the Tomb when it was eventually found, quite by chance, just
\nbeneath the camp that historians and scholars had set up to find it! We
\nalso saw a reproduction of the famous gold and lapis mask of Tutankhamun (we
\nhad seen the stunning original in Cairo) as well as the key elements of the
\ndiscovery: his golden throne, for instance. There were reproductions of the
\nfour alabaster Canopic jars containing organs of the young boy-king as well as information
\non the brass doors that once opened leading discoverers to the inner cavities
\nuntil they eventually reached the sarcophagus of \u201cKing Tut\u201d and found his Mummy
\nconcealed within three coffins made of wood, glass and gold respectively. It
\nwas truly a fabulous experience to see this all over again\u2014and for anyone who
\ndoes not have the chance to actually get to Cairo, I could not recommend this
\nexhibition enough. Indeed if you do get to Highclere Castle, do not miss this
\nexhibition\u2014it is worth every cent.
\nabout the mythology related to the Curse of Tutankhamun and its relation to
\nLord Carnavron. He died within two months (I believe) or soon after learning about
\nthe haul\u2019s discovery\u2014hence, although he knew about it before he died, he did not
\nset eyes on its incredible treasures. He did arrive in Egypt, reached the
\nsite in the Valley of the Kings and had a brief glimpse through a keyhole
\n(literally! that is brilliantly reproduced at the Exhibition) of the treasures
\nthat lay within. However, shortly afterwards, he was bitten by a mosquito on
\nhis right cheek. The bite became aggravated by his morning shaving routine causing
\nan infection that refused to heal. He died shortly after of septisemia\u2014setting in motion the
\nmyth of the Mummy\u2019s Curse. What I learned at the exhibition was that the bite
\non his cheek occurred at the exact spot where the gold plating covering the Mask of
\nTutankhamun is at its thinnest! <\/span>Also
\ninteresting is that all the lights suddenly went off in the city of Cairo at
\nprecisely the moment when Lord Carnavron died and that his dog in the UK
\ndropped dead quite mysteriously at the same time that his Master died in Egypt.
\nIt had the hairs on the back of my neck stand upright!
\nTea Rooms:
\nand ready to eat a horse. It is interesting that there are no period kitchens
\nin this home. They have been modernized a long time ago as the venue is often
\nchosen for weddings, banquets, receptions, etc. Hence, all \u201cDownstairs\u201d scenes
\nin the series are shot on studio sets at Ealing Studios in West London.
\nkitchens at Highclere that serve the hungry traveler today. Adjoining it is a
\ncozy tea room for traditional cream teas or light lunches. Bash and Chandrika
\nhad already eaten by the time we arrived to join them. Llew and I chose the
\nBeef Pasty and the Chicken Breast respectively served with roast potatoes,
\nboiled carrots and peas. It was good hearty English fare and quite tasty for
\nthat.
\n1.00 pm by this stage we went for a long walkabout on the lawns of the property
\nthat comprise the gardens. Set in 1,000 acres of sweeping parkland, the grounds
\nwere landscaped by the famed English landscape designer Sir Lancelot \u201cCapability\u201d
\nBrown who introduced the \u2018natutral\u2019 aesthetic to English outdoor design. He is
\nresponsible for creating the concept of sheep grazing on lawns visible from
\nupstairs windows\u2014and there were loads of sheep dotted all over Highclere\u2019s
\ngrounds\u2014in order to introduce the bucolic touch to the surroundings. To prevent
\nsheep from straying too close to the main door, he built a moat called a \u2018haha\u2019
\ninto which they would fall and be unable to dig themselves out if they ventured
\ninto it. Hence, the soft undulating park spread all around us was his concept.
\nthis spreading estate are \u201cfollies\u201d\u2014and there are 12 on this estate\u2014small architectural
\ncuriosities often built in the style of foreign lands to represent fanciful
\nhomes from exotic realms. Hence, these are often domed and minareted as in the
\nIslamic vein or pillared and pedimented as in Greek Neo-Classical style. There
\nis also a lovely large screen in the Drawing Room at Highclere comprising paintings of all 12 follies on the property\u2014many of these follies are visible
\nfrom the windows of the house as one take the tour\u2014hence, it is as important
\nwhile touring the house to keep peering through the windows outside to take
\nthem in as many are perched high on the hills surrounding the house.
\nfollies (nearest the house) built in Greek Neo-Classical style, we joined groups
\nof people who posed for pictures with the house in the background. This is the
\nextent of \u2018gardens\u2019 one will find here. There are no herbaceous borders or
\nprofuse beds or rose gardens or flower gardens at all. It is
\nmerely a walking or strolling garden\u2014the kind in which aristocratic 18th<\/sup>
\ncentury ladies preferred to stroll so as to avoid any interaction with the hoi
\npolloi.
\nthe day shaping up so beautifully as one of those stunning summer ones in
\nEngland often do, it was only logical that we would use it to drive to Bampton, the tiny
\nOxfordshire village that is the real-life location for the fictional village of
\nDownton in the series. Supposed to be in Yorkshire somewhere between the towns
\nof Ripon and Thirsk (which are, in turn, <\/span>the real-life world of yet another famed British
\nTV series\u2014All Creatures Great and Small<\/i>),
\nthis village is actually much lower south in Oxfordshire and is now firmly on
\nthe tourist map\u2014thanks to the popularity of Downton
\nAbbey.<\/i>
\nthere from Highclere for without a GPS (or SatNav as it is known in the UK),
\nit is well-nigh impossible to find anything in the countryside unless you have superb directions.
\nWe were fortunate to find two people who knew exactly what they were talking about
\nand who led us directly to the little village on the edge of the Cotswolds.
\nplace in this village\u2014first of all, it seems untouched by the hands of time. It
\nis one of those timeless places that could have been built centuries ago\u2014although,
\ntruth be told, I noticed that most of the structures were built of the
\nhoney-toned Cotswold stone at the turn of the 20th<\/sup> century and
\ndated from about 1901 to 1910. Secondly, when the light hits these stone walls,
\nthe fa\u00e7ade seems to acquire a gilded patina which makes for quite brilliant TV
\nbackdrops.
\nTour with us and Bash chose to keep her company in a pub. Llew and I found our
\nway directly to the Bampton Community Center which is housed in the village Library
\nBuilding. This building serves as Downton Hospital in the TV series and many of
\nthe outdoor scenes associated with Isobel Crawley and her relationship with the
\ntall, handsome doctor, are shot here at the entrance under a very cute stone
\narchway. Inside the building, there is Downton<\/i>
\nmemorabilia\u2014for as their sign clearly points out, there is no Downton Abbey<\/i> Memorabilia at Highclere
\nCastle\u2014just Highclere trinkets. Here there are keychains, magnets, mugs, postcards
\nand photos to be purchased, but, most useful of all, you can buy a Downton
\nAbbey map for 50p that takes you to all the locations in the village that were
\nused in the series.
\ngive it at least two hours: After photographing the Library (Downton\u2019s
\nHospital), we strolled next door to the house that is used as Matthew and Isobel
\nCrawley\u2019s residence in the series. It has a high wall and a gate surrounding it
\nthat prevents anyone venturing into it, but the fa\u00e7ade is clearly familiar to
\nfans of the series. Again, we took many pictures at this venue.
\nisland that comprises this area, is the current St. Mary\u2019s Church (renamed as
\nThe Church of St. Michael and All Angels in Downton<\/em>). We walked into the arched
\nstone entrance and up to the church door and then made our way for a spiritual
\nvisit to the front. It is at this church altar that Matthew Crawley and Lady
\nMary are married in the show. Someone was hard at work changing the flower
\narrangements when we got there and apart from a group of three female visitors,
\nalso taking the tour, there was no one in sight.
\nthe series Matthew Crawley is buried, there was a group of noisy American high
\nschool kids on a school trip. Their chatter broke the age-old silence of the
\nspace but it also contributed some tourist vitality to it. Following the map
\ndown Church View Road, we saw the little houses that double up as pubs\u2014The Grantham Arms<\/i> and The Dog and Duck<\/i>\u2014in the series. We also
\nentered into conversation with a very friendly man who lives on the same street
\nwho shared interesting snippets with us about incidents associated with the
\nshooting. \u201cThey\u2019ve been at it for five years now,\u201d he said, \u201cand we have grown
\naccustomed to them.\u201d He told us that The
\nDog and Duck Pub<\/i> is a house that belongs to his friend whose exteriors and
\ninteriors feature in the film\u2014she gets paid a few hundred pounds for each
\nshooting session, he said. He also told us that the village garbage stand
\noutside her home is converted into a red pillar post box when shooting is on\u2014\u201cthey
\nmerely place a red pillar box dummy directly over the bin,\u201d he explained, \u201cbut
\npeople had no idea and actually started posting their mail in there! They had
\nto put a notice informing people that it was not a real post box.\u201d
\nwere charmed not just by its Downton<\/i>
\nconnections but also by the unhurried, calm pace of life in these villages that
\nhave always held a particular fascination for me\u2014for at least thirty years when
\nI had first been introduced to Oxfordshire\u2019s Cotswold villages while at Oxford.
\nGardens spill over with flowers\u2014there are hollyhocks higher than my height, roses
\ncling to aged walls, cats sit in sunny windows watching passers-by, dogs bark
\nindoors or prance in the front. There is not a car to be seen in some of the
\nside streets\u2014time literally does stand still.
\nthey were in the local pub on the main street. We badly needed a cup of tea at
\nthis time and went in search of a tea room, but the only one to be found had
\nshut a half hour previously. I came up with the idea of driving to Oxford–not
\ntoo far away. It was about 5.00 pm by this time and Bash was afraid we\u2019d hit traffic
\nbig time. He was pleased to make the detour to avoid the highway rush hour.
\nAgain, winding roads that went past the sweetest little Cotswold villages led
\nus within spitting distance of Oxford.
\ndecided to make a detour to Wolvercote to skirt the university town and avoid
\ntraffic altogether. Bash had his heart set on dining at The Trout Inn<\/i>\u2014legendary gastropub in Wolvercote, a few miles
\noutside of Oxford, where we had once dined together and where I have dined on
\nseveral occasions with different friends. Using instinct, I was able to guide
\nBash to The Trout<\/i> and on parking his
\ncar, we entered the place at a time when it was still almost empty\u2014it was about
\n6.00 pm. This gave us pick of the spots at the waterside for the pub is located
\non the banks of the Isis (a branch of the Thames) at the spot where a weir
\ntumbles water into the river creating a very picturesque backdrop for diners.
\nwere seated at a table for four and decided to order. Both Llew and I chose the
\nKing Prawn, Crab and Chorizo Linguine and it was just so darn good that I have
\nresolved to try to reproduce it at home soon. Chandrika, a vegetarian, chose
\nthe deep-fried halloumi while Bash had the beef burger and we all pronounced
\nour meal superb. For dessert, I got the Sticky Toffee Pudding with Warm Custard
\nwhich I only ever eat when I am in the UK while Llew had the Belgian-Chocolate
\nBrownie with Vanilla Ice-Cream. In the distance, I could see one of the dreaming
\nspires of Oxford\u2014the steeple of a former church now housing the Science Center.
\nI had the terrible feeling of being so near and yet so far. But we had lingered
\nover our meal and our drinks (local beer for me) far too long and Chandrika realized
\nat 7. 30 pm that she had a long way to go to reach home in South London.
\nhastily made our retreat from the restaurant but not before we paused on the bridge
\nabove the weir to take in the sights of the Oxford Tow Path curving towards the
\ncity at Godstow Lock where the ruins of Godstow Nunnery still stand\u2014they formed
\nthe setting for one of the famed Inspector
\nMorse<\/i> Mysteries that I adore.
\nhomewards\u2014alas, without passing through one of my favorite cities in the world.
\nSo near and yet so far, I thought, as I had hoped we would at least drive down
\nThe High and take in the illuminated college buildings. Still, it was only a
\nsmall disappointment in a very fulfilling day and we were absolutely delighted
\nwith the unexpected twists and turns (literally!) that it had taken to bring us
\ninto some of our fondest TV locations.
\nwas kind enough to drive us all the way into the city and it was at King\u2019s
\nCross that we alighted to hop into a bus that took us right opposite our building
\nat the corner of Gray\u2019s Inn Road within 10 minutes. Our hosts were already asleep when we crept
\nin at about 10. 30 pm after an amazing day.