Dust off your dinner jackets and dig your finest satin gloves out of storage: Downton Abbey is back. More than three years after the acclaimed Masterpiece series bid its millions of viewers a very proper farewell, the Crawley family—and the dutiful servants who (mostly) happily attend to their very particular needs—is preparing for a whole new round of upstairs-downstairs antics.
On September 20, Downton Abbey: The Movie, which revolves around King George V and Queen Mary paying a visit to the estate, will make its way into American theaters. To pay tribute to the release, the Belmond British Pullman has announced a pair of upcoming day trips that will transport guests back in time as it makes its way from London Victoria Station to Highclere Castle, the 5,000-acre country manor that famously plays the part of the Crawleys’ beloved estate. Built in 1793, it's currently home to the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon.
For two days in 2020—first on March 18, then again on September 23—the Jacobethan-style mansion will open its doors exclusively to Belmond passengers for a private, guided tour of both the house (if you can call a property with 300 rooms a “house”) and its gardens. Additional time will allow guests to explore the grounds on their own and check out the home’s Egyptian exhibition (it was the fifth Earl of Carnavon, the home’s former owners, who discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb with Howard Carter). But the journey there and back is a major part of the immersive experience that will allow guests to channel their inner lords or ladies—or Dowager Countess, if you’ve got the quick wit to pull that off.
Guests will depart London Victoria Station at 9:45 a.m. and travel aboard the Belmond British Pullman, where the restored carriages—which date back to the 1920s and 1930s—fit right within the style you’d expect to see aboard any first-class car departing Downton station (which was really the Horsted Keynes station in West Sussex, England). With its polished brass luggage racks, Art Deco table lamps, and stunning mosaic bathroom floors, the train is a mobile museum to the Golden Age of train travel.
On the way to Highclere Castle, guests will be treated to a three-course brunch as they wind their way through the English countryside. After their tour of the castle and its grounds, they’ll be welcomed back on board with a glass of champagne, followed by a three-course dinner with wine pairing (courtesy of Belmond’s sommelier). Reservations can be made now and seats are still available; prices start at $650 per person and are fully inclusive.
One tip: Before booking your journey, take some time to familiarize yourself with each of the train’s cars, as each one has its own unique story to tell, and you can request which one you’d like to be seated in. The Audrey, for example, began its life as a kitchen car before becoming the preferred carriage many royals, including Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Philip. Ibis, the train’s oldest carriage, spent two years operating as part of the Simplon-Orient-Express. Cygnus and Perseus, meanwhile, formed part of Winston Churchill’s funeral train. Bon voyage!
