Highclere Castle

[EllieinNJ]

We want to visit Highclere Castle on a day trip from London before our cruise.  There are several options:

 

1.  Full day tour including Oxford and Bampton leaving from Victoria Coach Station at 129 GBP pp

2.  Morning or Afternoon tour Highclere Castle only leaving from several locations at 99 GPB pp  and returning to Victoria area

    a.  British Museum Great Russell St.

    b.  Cumberland Hotel Marble Arch

    c.  Holiday Inn Kensington Forum Cromwell Rd.

 

We are staying at the Comfort Inn Buckingham Palace Rd.  If we pick the Castle only tour, which location would be best to start at?  Also do you think the full day tour is worth the extra stops and cost?

 

 

 

    

[Globaliser]

26 minutes ago, EllieinNJ said:

We are staying at the Comfort Inn Buckingham Palace Rd.  If we pick the Castle only tour, which location would be best to start at?

 

c. Walk from your hotel up to the front of Victoria station, go into the Tube and take the District Line 3 stops to Gloucester Road, which is one street away from the Forum.

[cft8]

We went last summer. I loved it! We were in a large group and so we arranged our own coach. I wish we had added on Brompton, though. I’d spend the extra money and do the full day.


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[cft8]

We went last summer. I loved it! We were in a large group and so we arranged our own coach. I wish we had added on Brompton, though. I’d spend the extra money and do the full day.


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[cft8]

Sorry for the duplication post, and the misspelling. I missed the window for editing!

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

I did the Highclere Castle tour including Bampton with Brit Movie Tours coming up 7 years ago in May.

The tour was great with scenes from Downton Abbey playing on the tv on the bus. Bampton is a cute little Town & the place where the Church & square scenes were shot.

 

~ Jo ~😊

[TiogaCruiser]

20 hours ago, retiring soon said:

Hi all!

 

I did the Highclere Castle tour including Bampton with Brit Movie Tours coming up 7 years ago in May.

The tour was great with scenes from Downton Abbey playing on the tv on the bus. Bampton is a cute little Town & the place where the Church & square scenes were shot.

 

~ Jo ~😊

Thanks for clarifying Bampton

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

TiogaCruiser ~ you're welcome. If you Google the village you'll see it goes back to 1086! Our guide told us ITV used it for the outside shots of DA because of its old ways eg lack of wires to hide.

I am so looking forward to the Downton Abbey movie in September! I loved that show.

 

~ Jo ~ 😊

[TiogaCruiser]

We’re expecting the big traveling exhibit in the near future in LA. Not sure when, but it’s supposed to be leaving Florida soon. 

We got a small traveling version at Museo, a small museum in Anaheim a few years ago. It included many of the dresses, including Mary’s proposal dress and the Dowager’s black and Purple signature dress.😁

[Cotswold Eagle]

On 3/10/2019 at 12:21 AM, retiring soon said:

If you Google the village you'll see it goes back to 1086!

 

That will be a Domesday Book reference, the post-conquest survey of land ownership carried out for William I (aka the Conqueror, aka the Bastard). The settlement itself will probably be much older than that - an 11th century date would make it comparatively ‘modern’ in British terms.🙂

 

There are often only scarce written references before Domesday, and even earlier archaeological evidence is difficult (unless Roman) because of the nature of settlements. Evidence of buildings may be just the traces of post holes, where wooden poles would have been placed in the ground to form the frame of buildings. 

 

We are lucky enough in my own village in the Cotswolds to have a written reference from 855 in ecclesiastical records and it was therefore clearly established by then. Some tantalising Iron Age finds indicate it will be much older, but we will never know exactly. I would imagine Bampton is much the same. 

Edited March 14, 2019 by Cotswold Eagle

[Bob++]

Bampton is thought to be one of the oldest towns in England. This from http://www.bamptonoxon-parishcouncil.gov.uk/history-of-bampton.asp

 

Quote

 

There is archaeological evidence to suggest that the community of what we now know as Bampton was established during the Iron Age, and it is thought that it also marks the site of an extensive unwalled Roman settlement. ~~ 

n the year 611, Cynegils became the King of Wessex, and in the fourth year of his reign, he had cause to repel an army of Welshmen who had invaded his dominions. In the expedition, he was aided by his son, Cuichelm, who later became king. Without further embellishment, the Saxon Chronicle notes: “A. D. 614. This year Cynegils and Cuichelm fought at Beamdune, and slew two thousand and sixty five Welshmen.” Considering the numbers slain, this must have been an action of considerable importance. 

Bampton, or Beamdune, then merges into obscurity, until some 300 years later, in the reign of King Alfred. Alfred was born at Wantage, not too distant from Bampton, and spent a great part of his life in this part of his kingdom. Indeed he held an important parliament at Shifford in 890, which was the subject of an ancient manuscript - now lost - but which is quoted by Sir Henry Spelman in his ‘Life of Alfred’.

 

2

Edited March 14, 2019 by Bob++

[Cotswold Eagle]

Which perfectly demonstrates the issues I mentioned. Can't blame the Parish Council for talking it up, but many sources think that the battle at Beamdune was at the Bampton in Devon , not the Oxfordshire one, which would knock a few hundred years off their recorded history 🙂

 

 

Edited March 14, 2019 by Cotswold Eagle

[Bob++]

However, Bampton in Devon makes no such claim. Assuming that the battle actually happened, it's much more likely to be in Oxfordshire than 140 miles away in Devon. 

Edited March 14, 2019 by Bob++

[Cotswold Eagle]

20 hours ago, Bob++ said:

However, Bampton in Devon makes no such claim. Assuming that the battle actually happened, it's much more likely to be in Oxfordshire than 140 miles away in Devon. 

Why? There is just a single sentence about this battle in the Chronicle - frankly it could have taken place just about anywhere 🙂

[Globaliser]

22 hours ago, Bob++ said:

However, Bampton in Devon makes no such claim.

 

Wikipedia says "This is most likely to have been at Bindon near Axmouth in Devon." So it is possible that that could explain why Bampton in Devon makes no such claim.

 

To me, this rather supports the proposition that the battle could have taken place just about anywhere.

[harryw]

We  visited the castle several years ago on our own. We purchased tickets online. And went by rail and taxi from London.

[Cruising-along]

On 3/17/2019 at 7:52 PM, harryw said:

We  visited the castle several years ago on our own. We purchased tickets online. And went by rail and taxi from London.

We did the same thing, easy to do and we had a wonderful day.