Highclere Castle is a historic country house set on rolling Hampshire grounds near Newbury, embodying centuries of aristocratic heritage. Best known today as Downton Abbey, its grand library, drawing rooms, and state rooms have become iconic film locations, inviting visitors to step into a world of elegance, ceremony, and storytelling. The atmosphere blends opulent interiors with tranquil parkland views, where light plays across carved woodwork, towering fireplaces, and sweeping staircases. This location stands as a living cinema landmark, where history, architecture, and screen history fuse to create a sense of timeless drama.

Highclere Castle's Dining Room embodies the stately elegance of a working country estate and the height of Downton Abbey's formal tradition. Built as part of the castle's early 19th-century interiors, the room hosts the Crawley family's dinners and the social rituals that drive power, loyalty, and intrigue within the house. Its paneled walls, tall windows and glittering chandeliers create an atmosphere of refined dignity tempered by quiet tension as guests and staff navigate conversation, politics, and romance over a shared meal. Today it stands as a quintessential ScreenTrails highlight, inviting visitors to imagine the murmured conversations and delicate diplomacy that defined Downton Abbey's world.

Highclere Castle stands in for Downton Abbey, the Crawley family’s stately home. Visitors can tour the state rooms, drawing rooms, library and grounds.