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Thursday, January 19, 2012

My Visit to Downton Abbey

I love costume dramas and I love Masterpiece on PBS, so it's no surprise that I also love Downton Abbey, currently showing on Sunday nights.  What was a surprise was my first glimpse of the exterior of Downton Abbey during season one.

"That looks like Highclere," I said.  There was some general murmuring from the husband, sort of a "yes, dear, whatever you say" kind of thing.  But, sure enough, the series is partially filmed on the grounds of Highclere Castle outside London.

Here we are in 2007 walking toward the house.  We don't look much like the Crawleys/Granthams of Downton Abbey, do we?  Sorry about the quality of this photo.  It was taken with an early, not-very-good digital camera.  Can't find the original file either, so this is a scan of a bad print!

Highclere Castle was our first stop on a trip to England in 2007.  We were in our rental car on our way to Stonehenge when we stumbled upon a sign pointing us to Highclere.  We had never heard of it, but we had no timetable, so why not?  We didn't go in, but we wandered the grounds before continuing on our way.

Sheep on the grounds of the Highclere estate.
It was a lovely first stop on a wonderful journey that took us as far north as Inverness, Scotland.  Seeing Highclere Castle masquerading as Downton Abbey on Sunday nights brings back the memory of that trip.  I understand a third season is in the works.  I'll be watching!




Linking today to Mercantile Muse.

14 comments:

  1. thanks for stopping by the link up! oh my, that alfie is SO cute! so happy to meet you.

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  2. very cool! I've "seen" you around, but I followed your link today from the Mercantile Muse linky party, and now I'm a follower. :)
    Debbi
    -ourhometoyours

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  3. WOW - I totally love this post!! I haven't missed a single "Downton Abbey" episode on PBS - can't wait for this Sunday night!
    Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Your pictures are wonderful! I haven't seen "Downtown Abbey". I hear it is a good show.
    I loved our two week visit to England. Now, I want to go back again!

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  5. I bet that trip was wonderful!! I love period films and almost anything on BBC series!

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  6. I haven't seen that show, but it looks wonderful! I would love to go to England, and Scotland, especially since I've been told I'm part Scottish.

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  7. I love that show!! Thanks for sharing your trip photos :) I want to visit so bad!!

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  8. I just love Downton Abbey. Such a great TV series. And yes, the castle is so impressive. How wonderful for you that you happened to stumble upon it.

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  9. I'm not familiar with that show. Love that castle and the sheep are awesome! One looks like it's curious as to why you are filming it.

    I hope you are staying in and staying safe tonight. I'm sure you are getting the same snowstorm we are getting tonight in NW Indiana.

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  10. I'm obsessed with Downton Abbey. I can't believe you were actually THERE. How exciting. We visited London a few years ago when my son was studying abroad. We didn't get out of the city though. I would love to go back and explore.
    Thank for sharing this!

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  11. I love Downton Abbey too.How funny that you went here!

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  12. That's really cool! I've never seen the show. But, now I want to visit that castle. I'm itching to go back to London (and Scotland!).

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  13. Love LOVE that show! How fun that you got to visit the actual house and have a little vicarious Downton Abbey experience! And I actually like how the top picture looks with the scan of the old print. I'm sure there's some fancy digital filter to achieve just that look!

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  14. I love the show, too! I bet Highclere Castle is getting lots more visits these days!

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