Visit Highclere Castle - television's Downton Abbey, as part of a six-night luxury walking vacation in England

We meet for our Welcome Talk and Dinner at our lovely hotel in Wiltshire.

We explore picturesque Castle Combe, often referred to as the Prettiest Village in England; this idyllic spot has starred in many movies from Doctor Doolittle in 1966 to War Horse in 2010. We will walk in the surrounding Cotswold countryside. This evening, author Jennie Walters joins us to depict life in an English country house from the servants' point of view.

This morning we walk around Lacock, another beautiful village mostly owned by the National Trust, featured in the BBC’s Cranford and Pride and Prejudice and, more recently, Harry Potter. After lunch we reach Bowood House, the family home of the Marquis and Marchioness of Lansdowne, for a guided tour inside the house and around the private walled gardens, all set in 100 acres of stunning parkland laid out by Capability Brown.

This mormings walk takes us to Avebury, with its Neolithic henge containing three stone circles. Unique amongst megalithic monuments, Avebury contains the largest stone circle in Europe and is one of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We lunch in a private house near Marlborough College, alma mater of the Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton), and near the site of Jane Seymour's Wolf Hall on the edge of Savernake Forest. In the afternoon, we continue our walk past one of the famous Wiltshire White Horses carved into the hillside before reaching our hotel in Marlborough.

Today we visit Downton Abbey!  In reality, this is Highclere Castle, the home of the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon. Our morning walk takes us through local footpaths and within the private estate before we stop for a country pub lunch. Our afternoon highlight is a visit inside the castle itself, seeing the actual rooms where the series is filmed.

We walk to Winchester and spend the day in and around this historic city. We visit the Hospital of St Cross, England’s oldest and most perfect Almshouse, and receive the “Wayfarers’ Dole”, a unique and ancient tradition established almost a thousand years ago. We continue along the river Itchen to our pub lunch. We end our day with a visit to the magnificent Cathedral.

Departure at leisure.