Highclere Castle is the film location for the “Downton Abbey” television series. ©Laurel Kallenbach
If, like me, you’re addicted to British costume drama Downton Abbey, why moon around watching past episodes? Just go for a visit and live it for real! You can see Highclere Castle’s gorgeous rooms and experience its real-life history through the eyes of your favorite TV character. You can’t help but visualize Mr. Carson presiding over the dining room or Cora Grantham having tea in the library when you’re there.
(You can also live vicariously by reading about my own personal Downton Abbey pilgrimage a couple of years ago.)
If you really want an immersion into the estate where Downton Abbey is filmed, you can now also spend the night on the property—not at the big house, but in London Lodge, accommodations built into the imposing arched entryway to Highclere Park.
London Lodge, on the Highclere estate, is built around a grand, arched entryway. Photo courtesy Highclere Castle.
London Lodge is decorated like a casual, contemporary cottage—with a sitting room, bedroom and full kitchen on one side of the archway, and the comfortable double bedroom, bathroom and dressing area on the other. Plan ahead! London Lodge fills up months in advance!
Simply elegant, a stay at London Lodge offers a chance to stay on the Highclere grounds where there are acres of forests to ramble and lovely, expansive views of the castle from a distance. Guests can meander to Dunsmere Lake, The Temple of Diana, and tour the house and King Tut exhibit (ticket required).
Built in 1793 by the first Earl of Carnarvon, the London Lodge arch is made with Coade stone with heavy iron gates, and it frames the grand entrance used by family and visitors Highclere Castlle. The individual lodge rooms to either side were added later, probably around 1840. Over the past two years they’ve been restored by the current earl and his wife to provide unique and luxurious accommodation for two.
I haven’t been to London Lodge, but it sounds just smashing!
Written by the Countess Carnarvon, “Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Read Downton Abbey” chronicles the history of Highclere Castle during the 1920s and ’30s.
—Laurel Kallenbach, freelance writer and editor
P.S.: If you can’t get reservations at London Lodge, you might enjoy Highclere’s 20th-century history in the books written by the Countess Carnarvon: Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey and Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey.
The second book tells the story of one of Highclere Castle’s more famous inhabitants, Catherine Wendell, a glamorous American woman who married Lady Almina’s son, the 6th Earl of Carnarvon. Catherine presided over the grand estate during the tumultuous 1920s and ’30s, a period when many of England’s great houses faded as their owners’ fortunes declined. As WWII loomed, Highclere’s survival as the family home of the Carnarvons was in the balance.
Read more of my Downton Abbey posts:
Here’s info about an upcoming offer to stay at Highclere Castle through Airbnb:
“Highclere Castle – the home of Downton Abbey – is now available for a once-in-a-lifetime stay. For one night only, you can sleep in one of the Castle’s iconic bedrooms on November 26th 2019 and get the opportunity to live like the Lord or Lady of a stately home.
For the first time, two guests are cordially invited to immerse themselves in life at Highclere Castle and will be treated like royalty during their stay. Booking for the stay on November 26th goes live on October 1st at 12PM BST.”
Check Airbnb.com for more info…