LAST WORD
Lady Carnarvon
7am I start the day doing some emails with a cup of coffee. Then I get up, put my yoga mat over my shoulder, and the dogs and I go for a walk. I take the time out to do some yoga and breathe and stretch my body out, which is getting ever creakier! I’ve got a little playlist and the dogs come and ‘help’, licking my face and my feet. It is hysterical, a very good way to start the day. 8am The gardeners and some of the maintenance team are up and about early. I bump into Simon the farm manager, and one of the gardeners is taking down a brick doorway and rebuilding it again, so I potter outside before I come back and put breakfast together. 9.30am I greet a tour at the house – an opportunity for a delicious cappuccino! It’s Monday, so I publish my blog and then see which phone calls I’ve completely forgotten to make, and what emails I need to be sending. I text Pat, who has been decorating at the castle since the 1950s, as I need to put up a scaffolding platform in order to rehang a painting. And I order a new hoover: at this time of year old houses have a problem with cluster flies and hoovering keeps them at bay to a certain extent. So that was my conversation with the housekeeper Sheena this morning: hoovering! 11am I leave my phone on my desk and go out for a ride with Maggie and Sam, who help me look after the horses. It’s a huge, rewarding weekly treat, and every time of year is quite different, which is why I called my new book Seasons at Highclere. 1pm I make soup for lunch with my husband and we sit down together and catch up. Then I have a walk in the gardens – it is wonderful being outside, and I think all of us hugely appreciate it after the last 18 months. 2pm When the [Downton Abbey] crew are here, in the middle of the day there’s more focus on where the filming is taking place. We need to work out where all their computers are going to sit, what lighting they need, etc. We want them to get the best possible shots and we need to plan how to shape the house in order to accommodate that. 7pm I cook a risotto for supper, then I try and do a bit of writing with a cup of tea. I end up writing at weekends, evenings, into the night. I’ve got a day job as well! But I think that’s how all of our lives are – a bit of a muddle. 9.30pm At the end of the day I take some of the dogs with me for an evening walk around the field in front of the castle. I take the time to have a cuddle with each of the dogs as we’re walking and chat to them. Looking up at the stars and feeling their eternity and timelessness as you walk round, aware of all the people who’ve walked and lived where you’re walking now – it’s a beautiful, settling occupation to end the day. Seasons at Highclere is available now (published by Century; £30). Downton Abbey: A New Era (pictured bottom right) will be in cinemas in March.
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BRITAIN
PHOTO: © BEN BLACKALL/2021 FOCUS FEATURES, LLC
The chatelaine of Highclere Castle takes us through a typical day in the life of ‘the real Downton Abbey’, location of the much-loved TV series and a new film sequel
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