Open to visitorscheck opening times and admission before you go
Highclere doubled as Downton Abbey on screen, but its real story is just as theatrical: Charles Barry rebuilt the house in the 1840s for the 3rd Earl of Carnarvon, and the 5th Earl later bankrolled Howard Carter’s 1922 dig that found Tutankhamun’s tomb, with Egyptian finds now on show in the cellars. It only opens for a handful of weeks each year, spring and summer, and every visit needs a pre-booked ticket. Watership Down — yes, that one — lies a few miles to the south-east.
