Highclere Castle hosts literary festival from 3 to 4 October

Highclere Castle in Newbury hosts its first literary festival from 3 to 4 October 2026, bringing talks, readings, performances and workshops to the Berkshire estate. The programme takes place at the castle, with the event also offering access to gardens and grounds; the house is known locally as the filming location for Downton Abbey.

Highclere Castle literary festival runs from 3 to 4 October

The weekend is presented as the venue’s first literary festival and forms part of the 2026 National Year of Reading. The organiser’s programme lists author talks, family-friendly theatre, readings, creative workshops, a bookshop, a speaker’s corner and a book club among the planned activities. A garden story trail adds an outdoor element to the schedule.

Named adult contributors include Santa Montefiore, Professor Joann Fletcher, Shrabani Basu, Lizzie Dunford, Gerald Dickens and Lady Carnarvon. The family programme includes Hugh Bonneville, Katie and Kevin Tsang, Simon Mole, Robert Tregoning and a performance of Alice in Wonderland by This Is My Theatre. The festival programme for 3 and 4 October sets out the activities and participating speakers.

Highclere Castle links reading with its Egyptian Exhibition

The event connects literary programming with the building’s established visitor route. Selected admission options include the state rooms, gallery bedrooms and the Egyptian Exhibition in the cellars, while event-only admission is limited to activities in the grounds and does not include the interior of the castle or the exhibition.

The estate’s first written records date to 749, and the palace was rebuilt as Highclere Place House in 1679. Sir Charles Barry transformed the house into the present castle in 1842. Its parkland was designed by Capability Brown in 1771, while the cellars now contain an exhibition about the 5th Earl of Carnarvon and Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. These details are recorded on the castle’s official history of the castle and gardens.

That setting gives the October programme a specific focus: visitors can move from talks and performances in the grounds to rooms associated with the estate’s nineteenth-century transformation and an exhibition tied to its Egyptian history.

Visiting Highclere Castle: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• The literary festival takes place at Highclere Castle from 3 to 4 October 2026, with activities scheduled across the grounds, gardens and castle visitor areas.
• Event-only admission does not include the inside of the castle or the Egyptian Exhibition. Separate options combine the festival with castle and exhibition access, and tickets must be pre-booked.
• The address is Highclere Park, Newbury, Berkshire, RG20 9RN. Newbury is the nearest reference town named in the visitor information for the estate.
• The gardens include the Monk’s Garden, Secret Garden, White Border, Wood of Goodwill, Rose Arbour, Wild Flower Meadow and Healing Herb Garden. The castle’s parkland also contains six remaining eighteenth-century follies.

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Frequently asked questions about Highclere Castle

When does the literary festival take place at Highclere Castle?

The festival runs from 3 to 4 October 2026 at Highclere Castle in Newbury.

What is included in the Highclere Castle literary festival?

The programme includes talks, readings, performances, workshops, garden activities and selected options for visiting the castle and Egyptian Exhibition.

Where is Highclere Castle and how do you get there?

Highclere Castle is at Highclere Park, Newbury, Berkshire, RG20 9RN, in southern England.