Evenings spent snug and warm on the sofa watching Downton Abbey might well lead to a night or two of dreams of being the lord or lady of the manor. Get in touch with your inner aristocrat with a stay at one of these fine country piles.
NB: While you can visit Highclere Castle (pictured by Richard Munckton), the real Downton Abbey, it’s sadly not possible to stay (unless, like Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton, you are friends with the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon).
Hartwell House – Buckinghamshire
Owned and run by the National Trust, this Grade I listed country house is just one hour from central London and two miles west of the historic market town of Aylesbury. Its Jacobean and Georgian façades sit handsomely in the middle of 90 acres of landscaped parkland. Inside, its huge public rooms are decked out ostentatiously with rococo ceilings, antique furniture and paintings.
Like Hartwell, Middlethorpe is one of the National Trust’s Historic Houses collection The red-brick country house near York that dates back to 1699 was rescued from decay and lovingly restored in the mid-1980s. Today it’s an elegant luxury hotel and spa.
East Lodge at Hardwick Old Hall – Derbyshire
Like the National Trust, English Heritage has cottages located on the grounds of a number of its properties. One of the best is situated next to the ruin of the great Hardwick Old Hall in the Derbyshire countryside. Once a service room to the hall (a laundry), the East Lodge is now a beautifully furnished two-storey cottage that sleeps four comfortably.
Cambridge Lodge at Audley End House – Essex
Cambridge Lodge is a Victorian gate house (built in 1842) that guards the entrance to Audley End. The first Earl of Suffolk built the main house in 1614 in the hope of enticing royalty to what he considered his very own palace. Today it remains very active with working kitchens and productive gardens. It’s one of England’s grandest stately homes, not least because of the expansive Capability Brown-crafted landscape that it’s set within.
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