A wonderful tour of you are Downton Abbey fans. Trips to Bampton and Oxford were fun and informative. If you are a Harry Potter fan, visit the Christ Church in Oxford to see the Great dining hall. Had a great time and would recommend this tour.
Loved tour of Oxford, very informative. So helpful to have staff bring our a wheelchair to make getting to castle entrance easier for my companion.
This trip was EVERYTHING for me as a "Downton Abbey" fan! We started with a trip to Oxford, beautiful and historic city. A quick tour of the univ. Next the town of Bampton where parts of the city is use in the DA series, and last... the stop at Highclere Castle. Beautiful. The gardens amazing. It's a FULL day, coach was clean, comfortable and our guide Andrew was wonderful. Funny, engaging and truly patient with all our questions. This excursion included a hard cover book of the castle (totally loved). I very much highly recommend this trip.
Great tour, if you are a Downton fan this tour is for you. If not there is still enough history provided and sights seen that will still make the tour enjoyable. Peter our guide was brilliant. Right balance of information and talking. Oxford is stunning and short walking tour of the town and some free time to grab lunch (there is no where else to stop to buy lunch, bring snacks if needed) But it was enough time to Wonder around and buy some food. Next stop was Bampton. Stunning village and home to Mrs Crawly, the town fair and the Church. You get the opportunity to go in the church (pending any services or events happening) and a small time to Wonder the village. The architecture in the area is stunning. It was also a spot to eat (quickly, can also eat on the bus) Our last stop was Downton Abbey, aka Highclere Castle.... No photos allowed inside. We got there just after 3pm and if you want to go for the Egypt Exhibition, you may not be allowed to upgrade your ticket. Last ticket is at 3pm... Though there would be time to do both... It would be great if the tour company gave this offer at time of purchase. You see most of the rooms as seen on the show. And plenty of time to Wonder the grounds and gardens. Onsite shop and have an option for afternoon tea. On the day we visited last orders were at 4pm which was when I got out of the Abbey..... You have about two hours at the Abbey. The free book is heavy!!!! So if you want to watch luagge weight, keep this in mind. Hardcover and no choice given. Has some recipes and life about Highclere. Overall highly recommend the tour. Shame they don't offer year round tours (Abbey is not open year round)
My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the tour of Oxford, Bampton and Highclere Castle! ChaCha (not sure of spelling) was very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor which made the day very entertaining for all. Robert was a skillful driver in navigating the narrow streets of Oxford for us. I would highly recommend this tour for anyone interested in seeing the Downton filming sites and a nice trip to the Cotswolds.