Highclere Castle

 Well, husband John has been trying to see the Carnarvon Egyptian Collection for many years, so when I happened to come across the Highclere website, and discovered that they were holding an Egyptian weekend in October 2023, well we just simply had to go. Included in the ticket was a welcome by Lady and Lord Canarvon, a tour around Highclere aka Downton Abbey, buck's fizz reception, a talk by Lady Carnarvon about the Carnarvon's involvement in the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, and free entry to the Egyptian museum. We also got a signed copy of Lady Canarvon's book on the subject. There were also themed entertainments in the grounds, relating to the family history and King Tut's tomb discovery.

Obviously for all that, the ticket price was significant, but as we were only going to do this once, we pushed the boat out! Fortunately, the great British Weather was kind, and we had a lovely day. 

As usual, no photos were allowed inside the house, but as most of you will have watched Downton Abbey, you will know what it looks like. The kitchen scenes however, were filmed in a studio, as Highclere now boasts very modern kitchens, so that it can cater for weddings and corporate entertainments.

We had a very interesting and entertaining day. Our tour guide Margaret, was very knowledgeable, and spoke French and German fluently - very impressive. Highclere isn't the biggest or most impressive of English stately homes, but it had a very good feel, and isn't so big that you cannot take everything in. We like it very much. 

Lady Carnarvon's talk (assisted by Lord Carnarvon) was very entertaining as she didn't stick strictly to the script. So we also found out about the ups and downs of the family history, and the somewhat relaxed attitude that former Earls had towards keeping the family coffers in good shape.

The tour of the Egyptian museum was interesting, but was not quite on the scale that husband John had expected. It seemed to contain a very poor reward for the money expended by the Earl, over many years of sponsoring the excavations in the Valley of the Kings, compared to the magnificent treasures now sitting in the Cairo museum. But well worth seeing anyway.

As part of the entertainments the Gatsby Girls were demonstrating some 20's style ideas of Egyptian dancing which, my husband enjoyed very much, to the point that he even joined in when they asked for volunteers. That gave me a good laugh. We followed this with a snack in the delightful little cafe, and then toured the grounds remarking on how well all the actors stayed in character throughout the day.

If you would like to know more about life at Highclere, you can read Lady Carnarvon's blog here.

She is very fond of camels!