By
Rebecca Gibson |
Guests sailing on Crystal Cruises’ Crystal Symphony next July will be able to enjoy an exclusive tour of the filming locations used in UK period drama Downton Abbey.
Offered as an extended land programme after Crystal Symphony’s 18-day White Sea Exploration cruise, the two-night English Countryside & Highclere Castle tour will enable guests to visit various houses made famous by the show.
During the excursion, guests will visit Highclere Castle in Hampshire, which serves as the setting for Downton Abbey. After arriving in vintage 1920s automobiles driven by chauffeurs, guests will attend a private champagne reception and tour of the estate, which will visit many of the rooms featured in the series.
Guests will also head to Berkshire’s Basildon Park, Swan Inn and Bampton, a village filled with locations that double as characters’ homes, the hospital, and the church. They will also enjoy a lunch served by costumed hosts at Byfleet Manor, which serves as the Dowager Countess’ home in the show.
Overnight accommodation will be at the Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire, an English manor house.
“The sumptuous world of gowns, gloves, and grand gentility is captivating not only to fans of Downton Abbey, but also history buffs, Anglophiles, and especially luxury-lovers, like our guests,” said Crystal president Edie Rodriguez. “Through our exclusive connections, only Crystal travellers will be able to participate in this ‘royal treatment’, stepping back in time to get a taste of how life might have been had we all existed then. It’s an extraordinary experience that would surely make the show’s Grantham family proud.”
Designed to commemorate Crystal’s 25th anniversary, Crystal Symphony’s White Sea Exploration voyage will begin in Reykjavík, Iceland, and include an overnight in Leknes, Norway, as well as visits to Akureyri, Iceland; Murmansk, Russia; Honnigsvag/the North Cape, Geiranger and Bergen, Norway. The ship will also sail through the Arctic Circle and White Sea, making maiden calls in the Solovetsky and Zayatsky Islands, Russian Federation; and Bodo, Narvik and Oye/Horundfjord, Norway. The trip will end in Dover/London, UK.
During the cruise, Crystal chairman Nobuyoshi Kuzuya will host special receptions and events.