There was nothing on the agenda for September 2, so we took the time to relax. Cathy had a massage, we took a walk around the property and just took some time to enjoy the time to do nothing.
We had tea with a baked camembert which was delicious and filling. So, while we originally planned an early easy dinner, we decided to have a later dinner in the dining room.
Day 23 – September 3rd – Highclere Castle and friends
Today we start the last part of our trip in England. We started out early heading south to visit the setting for Jeeves and Woster, known as Totleigj Towers, as well as Downton Abby, Highclere Castle. On the way, James, our driver suggested a quick stop to see Blenheim Palace, the ancestral seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. James convinced the attendant at the gate to allow me to step in to get a couple of pictures. It is clearly some place we need to return to the tour. But time was not on our side today.
We continued on our way, stopping briefly to see what was once a mill and now turned into luxury apartments.
We finally arrived at Highclere Castle. Records for the estate date back to 749 AD when the land was granted to the bishops of Winchester. The property was purchased in 1679 by Robert Sawyer and eventually passed to the Herbert family, becoming the country seat of the Earls of Carnarvon. Still the family home of George Herbert and his wife Fiona Aitken, the 8th Earl and Countess of Carnarvon. Photography was not allowed inside, which was disappointing. The tour is self-guided, through many of the rooms used in the shows. There were photos of various scenes and actors from Downton Abby along with text describing the rooms and their history. There were also docents in each room to give more information and answer any questions.
Researching some of the history of the family, I thought it interesting that the 5th Earl married the daughter of Alfred de Rothschild, Almina, (she was his illegitimate daughter, though that was apparently not known at the time) who inherited a large fortune that funded the estate and her husband’s Egyptian archeological expeditions. George Herbert, 5th Earl Carnarvon’s final excavation led to the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the kings. He became famous worldwide due to this discovery, though died shortly after leading to the idea of the “Mummy’s Curse”.
In the basement of the Castle is an exhibit of various Egyptian artifacts along with the fascinating history of the excavations leading to the discover of the tomb.
We left Highclere and headed to our last destination in England, our friend’s house in Weybridge!
