On arrival at Heathrow Airport, a private transfer will take you to the Audleys Wood Hotel, our base for the next two nights. In the evening join the group for a welcome drink and canapés, followed by dinner.

Meals: Dinner

After breakfast, we make our way to the world-famous Highclere Castle, home to the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon and the filming location for the much-loved Downton Abbey TV series and movies. There is plenty to explore, from the Drawing and Dining Rooms to the Egyptian Exhibition in the cellars of the castle, celebrating the 5th Earl of Carnarvon’s discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun tomb in 1922. Walk in the footsteps of your favourite Downton Abbey characters including the Dowager Countess, Lady Mary Crawley and Bates, Lord Grantham's valet, and take a closer look at the rooms and vistas that formed the backdrop to this hugely popular series. Outside you can explore the beautiful gardens and 1,000 acres of spectacular parkland, designed for the 1st Earl of Carnarvon by the famous 18th-century landscape gardener Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. The castle also has a gift shop and a tea room.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

For our first visit today we head to Delapré Abbey, where our guided tour illuminates its 900-year history. Built in 1145, it was once a nunnery but changed hands on many occasions and even played an important role in the Wars of the Roses during the Battle of Northampton. Threatened by destruction multiple times throughout the centuries, it still stands proud after a part restoration, boasting unique architecture, ancient doorways, a peaceful courtyard and fascinating rooms as well as five different storytelling zones.

Next stop is the Grade I listed Lamport Hall, surrounded by colourful gardens that are the result of 450 years of dedication. Its fascinating story began as a fine Tudor manor house, but Lamport has since had many different purposes; a hunting lodge, a country club, a base for the Northamptonshire Records Office, an army base, an Italian prisoner of war camp and a family home. There are plenty of treasures contained within the High Room of 1655, the 18th-century library and more, including a fine collection of furniture, books, china and art, amassed by the Isham family who lived here for over 400 years, with most items purchased during a grand tour of Europe in the 1670s. When the 12th Baronet Sir Gyles Isham died in 1976, he bestowed the estate to the Lamport Hall Preservation Trust, established to continue the hall’s restoration works and to ensure it exists for future generations to enjoy. We find out more during our guided tour, followed by lunch, and have time to explore the stunning grounds. Highlights include stunning herbaceous borders, a Walled Garden, a historic cricket pitch, an Edwardian stable block, the Eagle Walk with centuries-old Irish yews, fairytale woodlands and little feature ponds – it’s a real delight in the summertime.

We round off our lovely day with a trip to the Palladian-style Kelmarsh Hall, a Grade I listed country manor, designed for the Hanbury family in the 1700s by one of the country’s most influential architects, James Gibbs. Eight generations of the Hanbury family proceeded to live here and walked among the pink-walled Great Hall, the chandelier-bejewelled Saloon, the Chinese Room, with 300-year-old hand-painted wallpaper, the portrait-adorned Dining Room and the impressive library, complete with a secret door. During our visit we discover what Victorian life was like here ‘below stairs’ at the Servant’s Quarters and Old Laundry, a stark contrast to the finery of the rooms above and a captivating sensory experience throughout the Butler’s Pantry, service rooms and more. The house is nestled in award-winning Grade II listed gardens, brought to life by Nancy Lancaster in the 1920s, who lived at Kelmarsh and wanted the exteriors to reflect her traditional English country house interiors. The grounds offer a wonderfully fragrant place to unwind and marvel at a whole host of plants in the Sunken Garden, Walled Garden, Philadelphus Garden, Fan Rose Garden as well as the long borders, wilderness and lakeside areas plus a fairy walk in the woodland.

Later, we check into the Rutland Hall Hotel, where we stay for the next two nights.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning we enjoy a guided tour of Burghley House, cited as England’s greatest Elizabethan house, surrounded by magnificent parkland. Home to William Cecil, Lord High Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I, Burghley offers a unique glimpse into the way great houses have been lived in from the time of Elizabeth I to the present day. Here we have time to explore the breathtaking State Rooms and the house’s historic collection of paintings, ceramics and works of art, many of which still stand where they were first recorded in 1688.

We then make a brief stop at Priest’s House in pretty Stamford, one of the National Trust’s smallest buildings, where a chantry priest would have lived until 1545, when chantries became illegal after the dissolution of the monasteries. This charming 15th-century gem contains local memorabilia, a stone circular staircase and an exhibition telling the story of the area’s industrial past.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Our first visit of the day takes us to Belton House. Built in the 1680s, this historic gem is a classic example of an English country house estate, surrounded by formal gardens and a 1,300-acre deer park. Inside Belton, its wealth is evident with grand display rooms and impressive collections of porcelain, paintings and over 11,000 books amassed by the Brownlow and Cust families, with each generation making their mark on the house. Here, we can also discover the stunning works of Marian Alford and Nina, two wonderfully creative women whose works were heavily influenced by Belton.

Pronounced ‘Beaver’, fans of The Crown will no doubt recognise our next stop, the magnificent Belvoir Castle, with its fairytale towers and turrets standing in for Windsor Castle during series 1-3, as well as the State Dining Room, Elizabeth Saloon and more providing a lavish backdrop to many of the iconic interior scenes charting the highs and lows of the Royal Family. Belvoir is no stranger to the film cameras as it has also appeared in a range of blockbuster hits such as The Golden Bowl, The Da Vinci Code, The Young Victoria, A Royal Night Out, Victoria and Abdul and The Great TV series, so not only do we tread the path of Hollywood stars but also past monarchs, with James I, Charles I, Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II all leaving their footprints on the estate. This has been the ancestral home of the Duke of Rutland since the first Lord of Belvoir came to England with William the Conqueror in the 11th century. Since then, the family have lived in an unbroken line here, standing the test of vast remodelings, familial squabbles, wars and even a damaging fire in 1816 which destroyed priceless works of art by Rubens, Van Dyck and more. The current Duchess of Rutland, Emma Manners, even disguised herself as a cleaner so she could watch filming of The Crown! We find out more about Belvoir’s extensive history during a guided tour followed by afternoon tea. There’s also time to discover the blooming grounds, which features the rose-studded formal gardens, Japanese Woodland, the Regency-style Duchess Garden plus the remarkable ‘Capability’ Brown gardens, brought to fruition after his late 18th-century plans were discovered in the castle archives in January 2013.

This evening, we check into the Cavendish Hotel, our base for the next two nights.

Meals: Breakfast, Afternoon Tea, Dinner

Today we travel to Derbyshire where we enjoy a guided tour of Chatsworth House before either a light lunch or afternoon tea. This magnificent treasure is home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire and has witnessed 16 generations of the powerful Cavendish family who acquired the estate in 1549. The house has evolved through the centuries to reflect the tastes, passions and interests of succeeding generations and boasts grandiose interiors and a superlative art collection while outside, the 1,000-acre park was chiefly designed by ‘Capability’ Brown.

Our next visit is to Hardwick Hall. Ordered in the 16th century by Bess of Hardwick, England’s richest woman after her Queen, Elizabeth I, Hardwick is a striking Elizabethan treasure. The lavish number of windows (at a time when glass was a luxury) inspired the neat phrase, ‘Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall’.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch or Afternoon Tea, Dinner