Our driver went to the wrong hotel which delayed our visit a bit. The "spacious, luxury vehicle" was just a taxi. Fortunately, only two of us were able to go, rather than the 4 we had originally scheduled. It would have been very cramped for 4. The castle was amazing and it was a fabulous visit. The visit to the little town of Brampton was a bit rushed but it was a charming little village and it was interesting to see the places where filming of the show is done. I had expect the driver would have more information, but he clearly wasn't a fan of the show. He didn't seem to have much information about the history of the castle, the country side, or UK history in general. He actually thought the members of the House of Lords were elected, rather than appointed by the Monarchy. Until recently, I believe it was actually a birthright of the aristocracy! When I suggested I thought that was the House of Commons were the ones that were elected, he said, "No". I think he needs to review his history! He was actually from Scotland and was more interested in the up coming vote for Scotland's independence.
Still, we enjoyed the visit very much and would recommend visiting Highclere to anyone, Downton fan or not - it is a beautiful estate.

The driver was late and knew nothing about the locations or the TV series. The car was small and uncomfortable. The driver also purchased us the wrong tickets and we had to go out and have him correct the tickets. Incredibly disappointing and over priced. Wanted something special, and spent a lot of money on disappointment. Would never recommend this tour.

Awesome! Easy to coordinate. Tour guide was charming, entertaining and very thorough!!

A wonderful day made even better by our great tour chauffeur, Gillian Harker. Gillian is an actress who was extremely well versed in Downton Abbey lore and local history. Having her tour the castle with us really made it an even better tour, as she shared more than the docents in each room are willing to talk about.

Major difficulty contacting local tour company to arrange pick up. Pick up was 1 hour delayed by car trouble. Same day notice that Downton Abbey was filming and unavailable for visit. Only able to tour town.. Very disappointing and very expensive

The tour was quite satisfactory, everything we expected. Our guide was delightful and well informed, and we are sure we fully covered everything pertaining to "Downton Abbey." The one drawback, only incidental to the overall experience, was the vehicle (Vauxhal) -- it was on the small side for four adults, with one of us having to sit across the two tiny seats in the back (we took turns!).

This was a great tour. Our driver was an excellent guide. We were very pleased to discover we got to go into the castle. The gardens there are beautiful. For lunch we had the opportunity to go to a pottery which was wonderful. There were more spectacular gardens there. Then we went on to Bampton. It was so nice to see the English countryside and quaint villages. Thanks for making our day a good one!

We had a terrific tour guide who gave us a lot of inside perspective on the area, Highclere Castle and the nearby village where filming takes place. It helped that the weather was fantastic but the tour was definitely a pleasure and I would recommend the tour.

Bear in mind, we booked this trip through Viator in February for a Downton Abbey tour in August. The company that Viator subcontracted with to actually provide the tour lost our reservation. This required us to call both Viator and the subcontractor seven or eight times the day before the scheduled tour. On the day of the tour, the subcontractor driver showed up late in an under sized car. Worse yet, we were told our private tour was now to be shared with another couple. The other couple were pompous and made it known they were not happy. The next six hours inside the car were not happy ones.
On the positive side, the driver was informative and the Highclear Castle and grounds were everything we had hoped to experience.

This by far was the best tour we took while we were in London. This tour was the reason we came to London. My daughter and son came with me, we are all Downton fans.
Our guide Julian was very well informed on all the going on's at Highclere Castle. The only thing that would have improved our castle tour was for our guide to go in with us. She knew all the little details.
We had lunch at a pottery, which was great. On our driving time she gave us great details on the surrounding areas.
Once again thank you for our tour Juliian, you were great.
The Wallace Family USA 9-10-2013