European Grand Tour continues..2016: Downton Abbey 04/30/2016

We are approaching the culmination of our trip. Planning commenced for our journey over a year ago. We are all fans of the British TV series, Downton Abbey. We felt it only fitting to end this trip with a visit to locations where the series was filmed.
Today we walked in the footsteps of Downton Abbey. The location is a small Cotswold village named Bampton. A good part of the series was filmed here. It was like a step back in time. We visited the church where Lady Edith was jilted at the altar, where Lady Edith was married, where Lady Mary married Matthew, where Lady Mary married the race car driver at the end of the show. Also, the graveyard where Lady Sybil was buried and Matthew was buried. We saw the Downton Hospital, the school, the Grantham Arms Hotel, Mrs. Crawley's house, and the local pub. After leaving Bampton we drove 3 miles to Cogges farm. This location served as the home of Mr. Drewe, the tenant farmer of Lord Grantham. We also saw the pig sty where Lady Mary wrestled with the pigs. Very unladylike.
Needless to say today was an interesting day. Afterwards, we went to Stowe on the Wold and Bourton on the Water.
No trip to England would be complete with out partaking in High Tea, an old British tradition, one that we thoroughly enjoyed. Harry and I felt we had earned extra points for joining the ladies for High Tea.
Back to Downton Abbey. Our experience has not ended. Tomorrow we travel to Highclere Castle. I will let you know if we cross paths with Lord Grantham and Lady Grantham. I especially want to meet the Dowager Countess Violet, the matriarch of the Crawley family.. I will let you know tomorrow.
I asked Jerry Hankins if he would drive to the Atlanta airport and pick us up so we would not have to fly on to Montgomery. He said that he and Mary Ann would be glad to pick us up in Atlanta, but we said no. That is the kind of guy that he is. (smiley face)