Downton Abbey crew and cast finally departed from us on about July 9th. For the last six years a substantial part of Highclere’s year has been dominated by the requirements of being a film set: working with the actors and actresses as they filmed in the same familiar rooms, corridors, stairs and galleries as well as exploring new shots and locations in and around the gardens, lawns, follies and cottages. It has also been about liaising with the film crew, the production staff and the location scouts. There have been endless recces throughout; questions about when various parts of the garden would be in flower, and long days and nights for both those working for the production and for Highclere and our committed and humorous team. I remain so grateful to the latter in particular for all their hard work and patience.
It has been an amazing and splendid journey for which we will be ever grateful. Fortunately for Highclere the interest, whether from media or visitors, remains strong and of course there are rumours of a film… our seasonal calendar will continue in its traditional basis, around Easter Egg Hunts, concerts, country fairs, charity days and general visiting days during the summer. Christmas may seem a long way off still but we have already reserved a huge tree and I imagine we will watch the last episode about our home, in our home, still rather a surreal experience.
Do I worry about the end of Downton? Of course I do! Downton has been part of Highclere’s world in a spectacular fashion. However, I am going to try out some new “bright ideas” next year though clearly only time will tell how bright they are! In February we are going to have some romance and fun on and around Valentine’s Day. Later in spring, we will focus on the Gardens and Capability Brown as well as, of course, cream teas and tours of the Castle: all quintessentially English. Our summer season will end in September with what I hope will be a charming finale in which visitors will all be expected to play their part. But, more of that another time…..
Because of the marketing platform I was more easily able to publish my books, and indeed I am continuing to write which I find tremendously relaxing and enjoyable. Highclere’s history has so many stories and characters, anecdotes, laughter, whether in the past or today. I think sometimes we are our own sitcom!
Planning and preparation are essential to any business strategy, and Highclere is in many ways a business. However, flexibility and understanding also play their part. My husband takes a rational approach to planning and preparation. I tend rather to listen to my heart and follow my nose which I hope he finds endearing but suspect that sometimes, he is merely exasperated! I don’t know where the journey is going but I do know that everyone here works hard and does their best. We have a lot of laughter echoing down the corridors and, better still, a seemingly inexhaustible supply of practical jokes. If Highclere has been lucky enough to take centre stage then I hope there are many more acts to come.
We love the blogs and your books. I would encourage you to write more on the famous past Earls and Countesses. I was able to obtain both of the 6th Earls books after you sparked my interest with your two wonderful books. Please keep writing and publishing.
Thank you and I just need a little something called time!!!
I love Downton Abbey and will miss it! (Sad to stop having a laugh about the Dowager Countess every Sunday night!) I also love architecture and am eager to visit Highclere in 2016. I think the oak staircase is extrodinary and the music room is awing. I hope that the issue with the leaks shall be sorted. Looking forward to hopefully coming to Highclere in the near future!
I gave my wife both of your books for Christmas. She is a avid reader and has really enjoyed them both. We are also fans of the Downton Abby series. While we a sad to see the series end, I am sure that reclaiming your home from s few hundred “guest” will be welcomed. I will look forward to your next book and also your pictures and stories about “Christmas at Highclere”.
While we came to visit from the United States because of Downton Abbey, we will be back because of the beauty of Highclere and its welcoming inhabitants. I hope that interest remains high over the next years so that you can continue the upkeep and new events at the castle. It has been a pleasure getting to know both the show and real life at Highclere.
Thank you for allowing your home to be the center of the most amazing period piece’s ever.
We have watched the series with great interest. One of my favorite lines is Robert saying, about the house “It is my third parent and my fourth child.”
I’m not going to say the butler Vogle in my most recent books is taken from Carson…but certainly Carson has had his influences in my thoughts on a dignified and loyal servant.
I’ve watched, many times, the documentary about Highclere. And will watch it many more times. I’m in the middle of watching Season five, having started with Season 1 to watch the entire thing over the last couple weeks.
While I’m still furious with Julian for killing Isis so needlessly, I will always love Downton Abbey and a visit to Highclere is certainly high on my list of things to do.
Thank you for opening your home to our imaginations.
Well done.
Had Highclere tour and tea for big birthday from my family, also the two books as i am big fan of Downton!!
Enjoyed it so much would like to visit again in the future, as i,m sure it all went to quick.
love reading about the Carnarvons over the years. Also the blog is brill.
look forward to next chapter.
I’m on countdown now here in the U.S. Leaving to visit London and your Beloved Downton Abby September 5th. I just want to stand in front and take it all in, walk through the doors and imagine all who have walked through those doors, past and present. Look at the staircase and see Mary on her wedding day, as well as Edith on hers. Thanks for sharing your home with us for the past 6 seasons. We have a discussion group on Facebook just to talk about all the drama of each episode. Can’t wait, can’t wait!
It sounds good – I might mention I hope you are in London on the 5th and visiting us on the Sunday (We are closed Saturdays!)
Oh you really are teasing us about September ! I do look forward to seeing your “bright ideas” play out in the coming months and years.
You are quite right re September 2016 – I feel just like an excited child with a secret trying not to tell!
Congratulations on a most successful series. I enjoy your books very much. It is very interesting to read the many true stories of Highclere. Best wishes for continued happy times.
Smiles
Yes, it is correct to say that “all’s well that ends well” but my dear Lady, for you and all at Highclere surely ” the best is yet to come.” As my fellow (and feline) bloggers have oft said it is an absolute pleasure and delight to read your musings and hear of the delights and wonderful hidden treasures that you have at Highclere.
The cast, writers, producers and crew for ‘Downton’ were superb but the star was Highclere; your home and such a part of Englsnd’s history. Well done to all concerned.
Moreover I look forward to continuing these blogs.
Fondest regards,
Jeffery Sewell
Thank you – I was trying not to overdo Shakespeare and contemplating around the lines “All the world’s a stage” etc But things do go up and down…
Rumor has it that a B&B at Highclere Castle is being explored. Is this something already “old news” that I missed or is this something in the rumor mill for the future ? Or, sadly, is this simply a bad joke played on Downton fans ?
I think the rumours start and end with London Lodge a quirky gatehouse where you can stay ~(it has one bedroom). I am however working on a round house (The Grotto) for short term stays too. It has some of the most spectacular views ever and will I hope I have 3 bedrooms. I have to fix some of the roof before doing the fun parts inside!
Along with many others I am sorry to see the Downton Abbey saga come to an end. It was a marvelous trip into a life so different from mine. The Downton Abbey characters were wonderfully presented and I had my favorites, as I am sure everyone did. Anna, Bates and Mr. Molesley were mine. But the most wonderful “character” was, of course, the estate itself. Highclere Castle was the one constant – people came and went but “Downton” was always there. In less than a week my friend and I will be there to see your exceptional home…..we can hardly wait. It will be sad to say goodbye to the characters we came to love (and hate) but we are so fortunate to be able take the memory of Highclere home with us to America.
You are kind, I think it held it together too and I rather like the fact that in today’s world of appearances it is large, square and old, unconventional, positive attributes.
I just finished Lady Almina and am now reading your book about Lady Catherine. As both an actor and a history geek, I’ve loved how the 2 worlds of Downton and the real Earls/Countesses of Carnarvon collide in your work. I hope there are more books to come and that I can get over the pond and visit Highclere sometime soon.
Greetings, Lady Carnarvon! I was struck by your wonderful tribute to the staff at Highclere. Your comment about laughter echoing through the halls made me smile!! I would use the term “bittersweet” in reference to the series being over. Lots of great memories but lots of adventures ahead! By the way, although the series allowed a platform for your books, after having read them both (!), a platform wasn’t needed! They both are terrific! Marilyn Peck
Thank you – I am thrilled they are both still selling!
Just visited Highclere Castle yesterday. Although it was rainy and crowded we still enjoyed our view into history, both Highclere’s and the Downton Abbey saga. Much good luck in the future!
‘For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…’ – Ecclesiastes
Downton Abbey’s season in your life may have ended (at least until they shoot the first movie!), but there is so much to celebrate about that era, and the excitement of your future endevours. I look forward to many more informative and whimsical blog posts and more of your literary efforts, Lady Carnarvon! I don’t think you’ll ever be able to shake loose of all us Downton fans… 😉
That is great news!
Your quote from Ecclesiastes is on the sundial in the little healing herb garden here by the Castle.
I was so fortunate to visit Highclere in May with a group of friends. We were all struck by its beauty. Thanks so much for opening your home to the world…lucky enough to get tickets, that is! This blog always seems to appear in my inbox at just the right moment. Keep writing about the daily life there. It brings me back to my wonderful visit, and reminds me of all I saw that day. Blessings to you and your family and staff.
I would be interested in reading about the very early days of Highclere, the castle’s beginnings and the planning of the grounds.
I am actually writing a book beginning 4,000 BC here at Highclere – my title is at the moment “To walk in time” and I am hoping you will feel you are here as well telling the stories of the landscape.
There is no end, as long as Highclere stands, so stands “Downton Abbey”. It will be very wise for production to do a film, or two, or three 🙂 Then Best Writing, Best Costumes, Best Film will all get Oscars…and if Best Set Production also gets one, then the little gold statue should surely be placed in the Highclere library! I was fortunate to visit Highclere Castle in April, and your warm welcome and the friendly spirit of your staff showed me how a building of stone and mortar breathes beautiful vibes for all who enter. What an amazing good spirit prevails, and this must have seeped into the production of the TV series, their cast and their staff. Downton’s shining star is Highclere.I have also read both your books, so enjoying the tales of Lady Almina and Lady Catherine. Now I look forward to reading the new adventures that you will portray to us in your future writings. Always a joy to read your blogs, Lady Carnarvon, please continue to tell us more of life at Highclere.
I hope they do a film – I think they would have a large happy audience!
Thank you so much for allowing us to enjoy your beautiful estate, by way of Downton Abbey. It has been a marvelous six years and I hope you and your family will continue to keep a public connection with us. Will you still open the estate for visitors every year?
Today my husband and spent the entire day at Highclere. It was a return visit as we were overwhelmed by the beauty of Highclere during our previous one. We came prepared for the rain and had a lovely time. In the gift shop I had a brief conversation with you about a lovely garnet colored fringed jacket, which I did get, amongst some other items.
I, too, look forward to hearing more about your “bright ideas concerning Highclere.
Just a simple thank you for the wonderful books. Keep writing more, please. Love the style of your writing and the history…. Oh the wonderful history of your home. Lovely.
Thank you.
Highclere has been open fro the past 26 years and we will continue. I just hope visitors will continue to enjoy it.
Thanks for your blogs as they have been very enjoyable and informative. Six of us mid-western gals will be at Highclere on the last day of the season, Sept. 10. We are so excited to see your home and grateful for the opportunity.
Lady Carnarvon,
I so enjoy your writing – books and blog! Thank you for sharing your home and your lives with the world through your prose and through Downton Abbey – although, I agree with you that the real inhabitants of Highclere were and are every bit as dramatic and interesting as the fictional Crawley family – perhaps more so! Hope someday to visit England again, and to come to Highclere for a tour.
Best wishes to all from Phoenix, Arizona
I am really going to miss Downton Abbey. Someone had a good idea when they suggested making a series called Downton Abbey the Beginning. Let’s go back some 300+ years to the start of the Crawley dynasty! The possibilities are endless….and I have Downton Abbey to thank for introducing me to your beautiful home…and YOU !! What a pleasure..I will love Highclere Castle long after Downton is over and truly hope to visit someday. I’m still looking forward to some more books!!
Kind Regards
Mary Beth
Hello Sweet Girl,
Well, it’s ever evolving new adventures, now isn’t it?! . I will miss Downton sorely, but look forward to your wonderful writings and events. I was wondering if you are putting on a Christmas event this year. Am debating between flying in during October or December.
Ps…on another subject, how are the pups? 🙂 Kristyl
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
We had the esteemed pleasure of visiting Highclere Castle in July, 2013, during surely one of England’s most ferocious heat waves. But much to our delight Highclere was cool and charming, and gave us welcome respite. We were swept off our feet as we entered your breathtaking home and later, walked the capacious, verdant grounds. And we have loved Downton Abbey so beautifully filmed there. I was very sad to hear of its ending. We here in the States, in my case in St. Louis, Missouri, have loved the series–with its class and elegance and its conformity to history yet with just enough drama and intrigue to entertain us in style. DA has certainly been a source of delight these past nearly six years. In fact, we have Downton Dinners throughout each season, and commence our annual celebration with our premier Downton Dress-Up Dinner (w/ apologies to Lord and Lady Grantham, when my husband and I dress to the hilt and assume their personas)! We shall miss all of this tremendously. And I even thought: What’s to become of Highclere? Yet, your blogpost is a wonderful reminder that your charming, historical estate has been home to generations of your family long before DA was but a dream in Julian Fellowes’ imagination, and it shall remain so long after. How wonderful that you will continue to open its doors, however, to Downton devotees, who can’t quite find it in themselves to say good-bye. I hope I shall say hello to your exquisite dwelling at least one more time in the coming years. May I wish you all success with your many future endeavors and dreams? Your writing is marvelous, and I think you have only just begun in capturing Highclere’s essence, which is eternal. All the best!
Lynn Morrissey
Thank you for your comments – I hope Highclere remains a world of courtesy and traditional values. I always think it is a world apart every time I drive in the gates. I am collecting stories of dinners and etiquette together – my problem is that there is so much, I lose focus and have to find it again whilst ruefully filing away a story for another day…
Just received your lines and read all the comments. What else is there to added? Maybe, I will be fit enough to visit next year. To see the “décor” of DA? To discover the environment? To have a glimpse of you somewhere around the castle? Please continue to write. Lady Almina is on one of my bookshelves already and I will try to find the other(s) book(s) sometime. Again, thank you for your interesting blog which keeps us up to date…
I have nearly finished a corridor and a couple of staircases – the corridor is long and framed by arches, it is just amazing and then disappears around corners. My photos are so bad but I might get it properly photographed to share on the blog
Just received your lines and read all the comments. What else is there to be added? Maybe, I will be fit enough to visit next year. To see the “décor” of DA? To discover the environment? To have a glimpse of you somewhere around the castle? Please continue to write. Lady Almina is on one of my bookshelves already and I will try to find the other(s) book(s) sometime. Again, thank you for your interesting blog which keeps us up to date…
Dear. Lady Carnarvon , I think that Lynn Morrissey stated it best. You and your family, and your beautiful home, and all your adventures, have brought us all such pleasure. Visits to HighClere have left such wonderful memories. And though Downton is over, it and your family and home will never be forgotten . You all will ever be a pleasant memory, and adopted family to us all. Hug the puppies and horses for me . Desiree Creary.
That’s it, Desiree! Downton (Highclere) and this generous family who has opened their castle to us will never be forgotten. And I think that Lady Carnarvon’s writing adventures, too, have really just begun! Thank you, Desiree.
Lynn
Ps we are staying open ad infinitum – we have a footprint of traditional opening times and then I am “playing” with ideas around it.
Highclere has become so beloved via the international attention of Downton. However, reading your books, the history you’ve brought to the forefront for those of us who may never have explored, your informative and fun blogs- have given us more insight to an incredible world of a castle, a home and the fascinating people and families therein. Your interest in the war, excavating, the plane search team and the Memorial you are creating will be appreciated for many lifetimes to come.
Thank you for your devotion and sharing a speck of what it takes to continue a Legacy for future generations of not only the Carnarvons, for History and for so many of us around the world.
Sincere thanks for including us.
Carol and Tom
I walked around the gardens with three charming Americans on this past Saturday. It was wonderful to share and to listen and they so were so supportive and enthusiastic. It is catching !
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
I read both of your books and could not put them down! They led me to read further about King Tut and the discovery of his tomb. when I finished your books my first thought was, “I hope she writes another one”. The history is fascinating and your writing is excellent! I enjoyed reading them so much, please write more about your family history at Highclere Castle.
I wish you well in all your endeavors and can’t wait to read your next book!
Sincerely,
Diane
I have a son who has just moved to London, and we are going to plan our first visit to him around your Highclere calendar, so we are really looking forward to hearing of your special event plans. It would be wonderful to enjoy a special event at your beautiful home as part of our visit! Downton has been a wonderful series to view, and I hate to see it end.
shame about the rain ,but we thank you lady canarvon
For a very enjoyable day at your wonderful home
(Our second time) were all sad about downton finishing
It as been a terrific period drama in a superb setting
Highclare . All the very best to you and your family with what must be a very big responsibility keeping such a fantastic
House on going int the future . Dave
Dear Lady Carnarvon:
Greetings from Atlanta, GA. I was first introduced to your husband’s illustrious family as a child reading everyting I could get my hands on about King Tut. Loved every minute and fantisized about seeing some of the treasures in person. What a treat to see the Egyptian Colllection in your cellar/basement this summer. And I adored the silver on display!!! After over 50 years of reading about the Carnavon Family, I was blest to have an opportunity (in August of this year) to take a tour through your beautiful home, walk the gardens, remember the wonderful scenes from ‘Downton Abbey’, have tea in the courtyard, and retail therapy in your lovely gift shop. Took home both of your books, and all sorts of little treasures purchased there and in the town used for Downton Village. I look forward to seeing the last installments of the show in 2016, after you see them in England. Such tender loving care was exhibited throughout your lovely home, the wonderful staff there to answer questions, and only wish I could see the spring in person. Always I was reminded that this is a living and breathing family home, very obviously shown by the miriad family photos, that I confess, I studied intently as I toured your home. I hope all of this generous opening of your precious home has assisted you and your husband in the care and upkeep of this English Treasure. My thoughts and best wishes will be with you in the new year and hope to hear what plans you have for the future.
As a fellow writer of 20 biographies and female historian I congratulate you on the viivd and entertaining way you Wanted to say how much I have enjoyed your books. I started reading them as my latest book, (to be publsihed in a couple of months has certain similarities in its story to that of teh Carnavons with the economic downturn of a great estate and other similariites with Julian Fellowes Downton Abbey. My latest book to be published in October is ‘Royal Love Triangle, Charles, Diana, Camilla’ with anecdotes of f Lady Diana Spencer’s heiresss mother and great grandmother Like teh EArl of Grantham the 7th Earl Spencer lacked a male heir to succeed to Althorp and thbe fact she was theh third girl in a family desperate for a son explains why all her life Princess y Diana felt unloved and unwanted . My first husband was a psychiatrist consulted by members of the rroyal family and I can see that like teh stoies of the Carnavon ladies also i this case the story is y stranger than fiction and a could not have innvented it. Please keep on wriitng I love yuour books. Should you ever contemplate an author tour to Australia where I live in a subtropical Brisbane as the climate suits my health in old age although I was raised in England (de Vries is the name of my second husband, a Dutch architect please contact me as I know all the best places in which to talk about books. Many tthanks again. You must continue writng as you are blessed with gift of f makoing the reader long to read the next chapter and I stated both your books one afternon and read far into the night as could not put them down. and I know how hard it is to get that vivid flow of a stdory which you have succeeded in doing so well.
SUSANNA DE VRIES, AUTHOR AND BIOGRAPHER.
It’s sad Downton must come to an end but what a gift it has been.
It was a gift Highclere gave to us through Downton Abbey. Through the show we got an intimate look at the house and grounds, plus a schooling in what life was like in a far country in a long ago age.
But Downton has also given Highclere a gift. I have both of your books because I learned of them through Downton. And I would hope the fees given by the production have aided in the restoration of Highclere. Such a treasure should be preserved.
I am so happy that Highclere is still in the hands of the family. Even though times have changed, it is lovely to have a living history preserved and shared.
I only have one wish for season six, a wish I doubt will be fulfilled. I was hoping Robert would get another dog. He was so devoted to Pharaoh and then Isis. I was hoping for an Anubis or Nefertiti or Hathor. But I am resigned to season six being dogless. Pity that. Especially when you have such lovely dogs at Highclere. I’ve been reading the dog blog. Congratulations on the puppies.
Someday I hope to have an extended trip to England and when I do, I will certainly try to visit Highclere. I’m grateful that thanks to Downton Abbey and your family, it will still be there.
The Real Downton is not going anywhere.
Dear lady Canarvon,
Yesterday, 31august, we went up to Highclere Castle. When we came closer I noticed a very big smile on my face and when I saw the familiar tower I smiled so hard that it almost did hurt 😉
What a splendid house, even in the drizely rain. I know your house, ofcourse, from Downton Abbey but learned it is so much more, it has a historie and beauty of its own. I couldn’t resist buying both of your signed books and can’t wait to read them. Hope to visit Highclere again in the near future.
Diana
My Lady,
I was hoping you would consider making Highclere accessible to the “Downton” fans that are land-locked here in the US. Meaning… we (I) have no way or means to travel to England, at least not in the near future. I am thinking, my lady, of a virtual tour of sorts, that would enable a user to log into your website with a password obtained through paying say… $10 to $20 US, and then walk the grounds, so to speak utilizing the same technology that Google uses for its earth-cams. It could be a one-time only, or a renewable annual membership. Touring the grounds and the castle in High Definition online would be something I, and most likely thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands) of fans would enjoy. The vast number of devoted fans you have here in the United States should be an indication as to the possible revenue it could generate.
Please consider this, and respond if you wish. Perhaps it has already crossed your mind.
Sincerely,
Aaron
Thank you for sharing your beautiful home with us through the Downton Abby series. I will be very sad watching the last season and I am sure you will have mixed emotions too. We will be visiting England around Easter and I am hoping to visit Highclere. When will the dates be posted for Easter? If we could be there at the right time, it would make our trip to visit your amazing house! Thank you, Lisa Higdon from the US
Hi
I love your web site and blog. Thank you so much. I am an Australian and one or two of my mother’s sisters worked as kitchen maids for your mother, around the 1920s prior to migrating to Australia in 1930.
My mother was born in Cardiff, Wales one of 9 children. They have all passed over now.
I have organised a Watkin’s Reunion in 2016 to meet at Cardiff Castle, where some of my aunties also worked. All so very exciting. We are planning to come to your beautiful home to visit also.
Keep up the wonderful work you are doing. All the very best….barbi wildish
We are visiting the UK from Australia next year in May. This will be very high on my list of “must visit”.
I can’t wait
Absolutely lovely experience visiting Highclere Castle in August. Very rainy day but didn’t mind a bit! You have such a beautiful home – all the very best to you & your family after the “Downton Abbey” experience!
We had the pleasure of visiting Highclere on August 26, 2015. Seeing Highclere (Downton Abbey) was the highlight of our trip to the British Iles. Highclere was on my “bucket list” as a must see tour. Just to walk through the massive doors into your beautiful home and explore the grandness of a castle is a dream come true. Of course, knowing that your family actually lives in this magnificent home made it all the more enjoyable. As we were walking the grounds, we noticed you and your dog being photographed in the afternoon light, what fun to see the real Countess of Carnarvon enjoying life.
Thank you for allowing Downton Abbey to be filmed in your home. There are many Americans who love the series and hate to see it end, myself included. Best wishes and blessings in your future endeavors. I hope there are many plans for tours and activities at Highclere in the future.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
i have just finished reading Lady Catherine, and enjoyed it very much! I look forward to reading Lady Almina next. I want to encourage you to continue writing your accounts of the history of this wonderful house and its residents, Lord Carnarvon’s family. I noticed one of your responses above that mentioned you are collecting stories on dinners and etiquette, hopefully for a new book! I have scoped every article I can find about Highclere hoping to find pictures or information about the beautiful dining room, dining table and the beautiful china, silver, crystal and flower arrangements that make dining at Highclere so special. Stories about interesting guests and dinners and the formality of dining at Highclere would be the ultimate for me! I hope to encourage you in that project!
I enjoy your blog very much, and the pictures of Highclere, family ancestors and animals are just great! Thank you for sharing your wonderful home with all of your fans! My sister recently visited and toured the castle and just loved it! I hope I can visit soon!
Sonya
I have just finished your book Lady Almina and will start Lady Catherine soon. Loved the book. I do wish you had added a few more details about Lady Almina, Her second marriage and how long it lasted. When she passed away and where she is buried. I also wish you had included when Howard Carter died and when. Also, did the Egyptian government let the 5th Earl’s family and the Carter family have any of the pieces from King Tut’s tomb??
Also, would love to know if you have other books or if you have other books ready to come out. It was such a graceful, easy read. That I could not put it down. You did a marvelous job!! Kudos to you!!
Dr. Van Der Klemens
I was reading on Lady Almina on Wikipedia and this line in her Bio stumps me: Almina Dennistoun died in diminished circumstances in 1969 in Bristol, at the age of 92. Does this mean she was broke when she died? Had no money? If you can help explain, that would be great.
Do you ever have any events during the month of March?
Regards,
Judi
Thanks for including the world at large in your life through this blog. We do enjoylittle peek into a beautiful world. I think I first began to love England through the stories of Agatha Christie when I was in the 2nd or 3rd grade, then later, I began to read Sherlock, and progressed through the more modern fiction writers, Inspector Lynley, Midsomer Murders, and of course in college, Shakespeare,,, well, I could go on and on. I must be of English descent with a maiden name like Williams, ! lol. We did visit London, in 1983, and I hope to return and see some of the country side next . We enjoyed Downton Abbey very much. It was a good idea. Hoping to read your books, Martha Teague
My Lady:
I had the distinct pleasure of visiting your home on my 60th birthday last fall – and came from Canada to do so. It was an experience of a lifetime to walk the hallways of your home in the same way as those marvelous characters from Downton Abbey – I could envision their every step and recalled several scenerios of many story lines. Thank you for making Highclere the home for this glorious series. It will be dearly missed by many, but how fortunate we were to enjoy it so dearly!
Hi! I’m writing from Argentina. I really love Downton Abbey, it’s a marvellous tv series. I’m glad such an important busy person as you are takes some time to post in a blog and then read what we have to say. Now that I know that the place is a real one and it’s opened to visitors I will be thrilled to add it to one of the many places I must visit whenever I get the chance to travel to England. Congratulations for the astonishing dreamy house you live in. Hopefully one day i’ll be lucky enough to see it!
Regards,
Alina
Hi I am not obsessed by highclere but I do love reading all about the castle downtown abbey. I would love a tour of were it was all flimed but I am unfortunately unable to get there. Good luck with everything.xx