Highclere, aka Downton Abbey, with Martin Randall Travel

Martin Randall Travel's Great Houses of the South West tour reads like a run-through of some of Britain's best-loved film and period drama locations. 

Setting off in Berkshire with Highclere, the grandest of houses and now known to millions as the setting for Downton Abbey, the tour also includes Wilton House  and Montacute House, of Sense and Sensibility fame, Stourhead's landscaped gardens, the setting for Pride and Prejudice, and Tyntesfield, the location for the BBC's Dracula series.

This 8-day tour, running in September 2012, is accompanied by an architectural historian and author, who's written extensively on English country houses, and features out-of-hours visits and special appointments to view these houses, which also boast some outstanding picture collections and exceptional furniture.

The tour's based at three leading hotels in the South West, in Bishopstrow, Taunton and Colerne, all well-known for their very high standards of accommodation, excellent service and high quality food. 

The price per person, based on two sharing, is £2,820 which includes all accommodation, travel by private coach throughout the tour, most meals with wine, water and coffee, admission to the houses and gardens, and the talks by the lecturer.

For more information, visit martinrandall.co.uk.