Lady Carnarvon’s Castle Conversations

Monday, 7 September, 2026

I welcomed one of my hero authors, Michael Morpurgo, and his wife Clare, to Highclere Castle to talk about storytelling, history, the magic of reading, and the extraordinary charity they founded together: Farms for City Children. Michael shared how War Horse came to life and why understanding the First World War matters more than ever today. We recalled the unforgettable day Joey, the National Theatre's War Horse puppet, came to Highclere in 2014 — walking through the very library where Almina, my predecessor, had nursed soldiers back from the trenches a century before. Michael told the wonderful story behind Farms for City Children — how Clare, a childhood afternoon let loose near a Devon farm, courtesy of her father Allen Lane, founder of Penguin Books, sparked a lifetime's passion for the countryside, and how that passion became a charity that has given over 120,000 inner-city children a week of real farm life. We explored the importance of books and reading, handwriting, the friendship with Ted Hughes, the honest editorial partnership between Michael and Clare, and my own plans for a Highclere Literary Festival this October.

Wednesday, 22 July, 2026

I’m delighted to welcome author and explorer Levison Wood to Highclere, where we talk about my great love; trees and his book, The Great Tree Story: how forests have shaped our world. Levison shares how studying the Grand Tour at university inspired his lifelong passion for travel and storytelling, from hitchhiking across Europe and Central Asia to serving as an officer in the Parachute Regiment and deploying to Afghanistan. He recalls founding a production company and undertaking extraordinary long-distance walks, including nine months walking the White Nile from its farthest source to the Mediterranean, followed by the length of the Himalayas and other epic routes. We explore what drew him to write about trees, especially an experience with the Asháninka in the Amazon and we discuss ancient yews, cedars, redwoods, Highclere’s planting of 22,000 trees and his plans to adapt The Great Tree Story into a feature documentary.

Monday, 1 April, 2024

My guest this month is local nature writer Nicola Chester. As Spring arrives at the real Downton Abbey it was lovely to sit down and talk about the beautiful countryside that surrounds us. Nicola's Award Winning Memoir is called 'On Gallows Down: Place, Protest and Belonging'.