'DOWNTO ABBEY' ~ HIGHCLERE CASTLE & THE COTSWOLDS 2026

Day 1:
From local departure points relax and enjoy the coach journey south, with a stop in Bourton-on-Water, located in the Cotswolds within the heart of England, famous for its honey-coloured stone architecture and idyllic village scenes. We then continue to the Orida Hotel.  

Day 2:
Today we visit Highclere Castle, the real ‘Downton Abbey’, and home of the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon. We take a self-guided one-hour tour of the public rooms, including the state rooms and bedrooms where scenes for the show were filmed. We also explore the ‘Egyptian Exhibition’, located throughout the cellars, celebrating the 5th Earl of Carnarvon’s discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun. There’s time to discover the ‘Capability Brown’ designed grounds, browse the gift shop, and perhaps stop for tea and cake at one of the tea rooms. 

Day 3:
After breakfast we depart the hotel @ 10am and travel to spend some time in the Cotswolds town of Morton-in-Marsh, a thriving market town, with the broad High Street lined with elegant 17th and 18th Century buildings, among them the White Hart Royal, a former manor house in which King Charles I sheltered during the Civil War. We depart here approx.: 1pm and continue the journey home.

• 2 night accommodation at Orida Hotel
• 3 course dinner  & breakfast
• Entrance to Highclere Castle, Egyptian Exhibition & Gardens
• Scenic tour of Cotswold Villages
• Luxury Coach Travel 

• Single Room Supplement £70

3 days

Relax in the countryside, four miles from central Newbury.  Our hotel features sauna and steam rooms and a heated indoor pool. The modern rooms offfer complimentary WiFi, 49-inch HDTV, laptop safe & air conditioning, En suite bathroom with toiletries, Hairdryer, Iron/ironing board.