We have just closed to general visitors for the summer. So for once Highclere is quiet ,and everyone has the weekend off before we prepare for an Autumn of tours, lunches, shoots, charity runs, a car rally, a conference or wedding and so forth. Luis, one of our banqueting managers, is in France playing golf and tasting champagne (on my behalf). It sounds good. Jorge has returned to Portugal, Jo is looking for a horse for me, Sid is not on his digger, but instead he is fishing and so on.
Our guides gathered for tea on their last day, about 36 women and 4 men, chattering in the Coach house, although many will be back sporadically to take the school trips or private tours over the next months. The car parkers led by Pat have more intermittent work, and Colin and Evelyn at visitor reception can take a well deserved break.
The dogs are the first to miss the visitors, the crumbs from scones, dropped sandwiches or ice creams are no longer there at the start or end of walk. Sally has little left in the gift shop and was just about to consider selling Christmas stock in desperation. She is now turning to re-present the web site and plan towards next Easter.
Autumn at Highclere is a beautiful time of year as the light and colours begin to change. It is a time to gather stock both metaphorically and in our farm. I have realised that has been a year since I started a blog; last September I wrote about a church service in the cemetery chapel, which has again taken place on a beautiful evening, a time of reflection and peace and a time to have the space to grieve in a busy world for all those people we loved, who have died.
Now we are working towards a Harvest Festival at Highclere church, I thought it would be fun build it up, to add more harvest decorations, sheaves of wheat, a tractor, some sheep, baskets of apples and to ride to church for fun. It is trying to connect what we grow to what appears from a super market shelf on the kitchen table.
Lastly I must finish the writing part of my next book in the next two months, and we have more photography to do, of the kitchens,the quinces, the food , the old menus…..anecdotes and less interruptions!!!
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Dear Lady Carnarvon,
This is a delightful update on the comings and goings at Highclere. Your update makes me feel like I am hearing from a friend down the road, not across the pond. Autumn is my favorite season and it sounds like it is one of the best times to be a resident of Highclere.
Best regards,
Barbara
Lady Carnarvon,
I am so appreciative of your blog site! For me the blog ( your thoughts, musings, descriptions of the estate’s activities and of the various staff working there), the photos etc., have opened a window to a lifestyle that is quite unlike the one that my husband and I enjoy, here on the Nature Coast of Florida. Thank you for the blog and please continue with it!! By the way, our autumn in Florida boasts of somewhat reduced temps, the odd tree turning color, and the many tourists that start flocking to Florida to escape the forthcoming northern winters.
Lastly, having read two of your books, I am looking forward to reading your forthcoming book as well! Best wishes, Marilyn
Thank you – and at the moment I am collecting my thoughts and archives re my next book. I did for instance find some charming menu cards( from pre WW2) but I put them down somewhere last week … they are not lost, merely not with me but it is not always easy being organised!! Anyway off to do some reading next.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
I was at Highclere on September 9th and thoroughly enjoyed seeing your home and the grounds. My trip was a dream come true. The castle is stunning, and your guides were exceptional. The green silk wallpaper and Lady Almina’s chandelier are unforgettable. Thank you for sharing your home and for your blog. I love reading about Highclere!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
I was at Highclere on August 2nd for the Battle Proms and August 3rd for Heroes at Highclere, which included a tour through the Castle. I so enjoy hearing about Autumn at Highclere, and the pictures that brought me right back to my visit. Thank you for opening your home to those who enjoy seeing the stately manors and castles and getting a taste of the real Downton Abbey. Blessings as you head into the Autumn season. Wish I could be there for the Autumn Festival.
I am going to plan an Autumn celebration in 2016, a week to open and share how lovely it is …
What??? Next book? How have I not heard of this before! Does that mean it will be about your mother-in-law? Or is there a generation I’m missing? Or perhaps you have gone in an entirely new direction. All the questions that are now popping up in my head! Give us a hint, if you will. Otherwise, I shall just have to wait until it comes out, I guess. Was a summer visitor to HC last year and can imagine how beautiful autumn is there. I live in Ohio, USA, where we get a good dosage of all four seasons. I love the change of seasons and am glad to read that you seem to enjoy it as well. Best wishes, Jeanne
It is a new direction but fun and beautiful and I hope fascinating
OH NO !!!!! After reading your blog I have visions of a gift shop without any gifts to purchase. 🙂 🙂
We are coming to Highclere in October and many of our friends and family have asked for a souvenir.
I am sure we will find something. Christmas is always good.
We are so excited about our upcoming trip and hope it just the first of many.
I have read both of your books and am happy to hear you are busy with a third. Can we have a hint to
what or who the subject will be.
We live in a part of Canada where the fall season is well under way………..way too soon.
Sally who runs the gift shop has been busily having meetings with new suppliers and new stock for the gift shop. It was so nice today we were each having our separate meetings outside this morning. We sit at our little tables scattered on the grass some 30 feet apart ….
The book is quite fun and full of photographs and stories past and present – it is a secret!
What a summer it have been at Highclere one to remember for evermore, with Downton Abbey popping in & out through out the year & the fantastic Battle Proms & not forgetting the wonderful Heroes at Highclere in August. Now that Autumn is here I think its such a lovely time of the year, with all the golden colours that look like fireworks on every tree for all of us to enjoy, then its Christmas will be here another joyful time at Highclere for all. I so look ward to reading your monthly blogs Lady Carnarvon the are so uplifting to read what’s going on just up the A34 from my little house in Winchester,
Have a great Harvest Festival at Highclere.
Paul
Thank you – the harvest festival should be fun and we have been practising with the horses!
I just love hearing from you and the comings and goings on at Highclere – I don’t have a bucket list but….Someday…..
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
This past Saturday, I was privileged to attend your presentation at Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha, Nebraska USA. Your talk, the information, and the photographs were fabulous! I was amazed at the vast amount of knowledge you shared in such a fascinating and entertaining way. Thank you for such a wonderful experience!
I really enjoy your blog and pictures (Love the dogs!). Autumn looks like a beautiful time of year at Highclere Castle; but then, I imagine it is a “piece of heaven” all year long. Wishing you all a blessed fall season.
Sincerely,
Mary Ann
Thank you so much – I loved my visit to Omaha, you were very kind and very welcoming , thank you.
Sounds like a great time to be at Highclere. Another book! Can’t wait! Hope I can order another autographed copy! Your books are excellent, very easy to read and very enjoyable. Happy Anniversary on your blog. Hope you keep writing books and blogs! Have a wonderful Harvest Festival!
Mary Beth
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
I sounds like you had a wonderful time this year. Everyone I have talked to who has visited Highclere has had nothing but wonderful things to say about it. My wife and I will be in England from September 30 through October 13 and are sad that we will not have the opportunity to see Highclere. Is it possible to at least visit the grounds?
Without tickets, we set out on a rainy Sunday morning in August, to take a chance on seeing your lovely home. My 18-year-old daughter, Elisabeth, and 20-year-old son, Jonathan, were dressed for tea, to be taken in London later that day, but wishing to be surprised, they had no idea that Highclere was our morning’s destination. As we traveled along the drive and the towers could be glimpsed, gasps of disbelief emanated from the back seat. My efforts were rewarded by the delight of my family. We had no difficulty purchasing walk up tickets and we stood aside as the Rolls Royce, followed by several cars, exited the castle grounds before we entered. We enjoyed tea and scones before touring what was a decided highlight of our visit to your lovely country. Walking through your home held emotional moments for us, as we experienced, firsthand, what we have grown to love about Downton Abbey. Seeing your story, as well, made the visit much more meaningful. Thank you for the wonderful opportunity you shared with us, welcoming us as your guests. Enjoy a beautiful Autumn and a great year ahead. Again, thank you.
Lady Carnarvon,
Thank you for you fall update on the activities at Highclere. We were guests at Highclere in August and It was the highlight of the summer! We had the great pleasure and good fortune to meet you and visit your beautiful home. I love your blog and look forward to each post. Thank you for being so gracious!
Victoria Killen
Dear Lady Carnarvon
I am a really big admirer if your books and I check your blog two times a day for a new post. Can you please do a post of the Carnarvon family jewels. I am really interested in the jewelry of the British Aristocracy, but I have not been able to find any information on the Carnarvon family jewels.
Thank you for this blog which allows us an insight into your daily life.
Love reading your blog . Please keep us updated. I am so looking forward to your new book. I hope to visit Heighclere. Thank you for sharing your life with is.
Have you ever thought of having a cemetery walk? We live in an area rich in the history of Abraham Lincoln. A local town holds an annual cemetery walk complete with actors and actresses portraying historical characters buried there. It is a huge fundraiser and well received.
Dear Lady Carnarvon
My mother is very keen to visit your wonderful house and I wanted to treat her with some surprise tickets. When will tickets be on sale for 2015?
Thank you for your assistance.
Yours
Alexander
Would love to come for a visit.
I was wondering if I could find out when this blog began so I can start at the very beginning. I’ve been on the email list since about mid-March but haven’t read any of the postings because I just hate coming in at the middle of a book or movie. It’s a me thing. lol If you could please let me know so I can start my new “book” by Lady Carnarvon.
Thanks so much.
Janis
I know I began the blog one September Sunday evening – I began with a blog in a chapel looking out .. I have become disciplined, writing one for every Monday morning. I tend to write them rather too close to my Monday deadline!!! I mean of course to be more prepared.