'Downton Abbey's' setting open for tours

Something is amiss in the library of Highclere Castle.

Not only is Lord Grantham not here to greet me (most unlike him), but his desk has been moved from under the window to the other side of the room. I point out this to the guide, and she reassures me that it will be moved back before he returns. She also gently reminds me of something else:

Lord Grantham doesn’t actually live here.

Like millions of others around the globe, I’ve become addicted to the antics of the Crawleys, the fictitious inhabitants of “Downton Abbey.” The real-life setting for this popular British period drama is Highclere Castle near Newbury, a 1 1/2-hour drive from London.

Visiting the location of a much-loved film or TV series is a surreal experience. As we wander through the castle, I keep expecting to stumble upon Lady Cora and the Dowager Countess taking tea. Or spot Lady Mary and Matthew Crawley exchanging smoldering looks as they pass on the stairs.

It must be even more surreal for the castle’s real-life inhabitants, the eighth Earl and Countess of Carnarvon. Not only do they have to relinquish their home for weeks on end to an army of film-crew members, but they then get to watch it on TV each week.

Not that they’re complaining. Since the show started, visitor numbers have rocketed from 300 to 1,300 people a day. All of which helps when you have a 50-bedroom castle and a 1,000-acre estate to maintain.

Though there has been a home at Highclere for more than 1,000 years, the current building was designed in 1842 by Sir Charles Barry, who also built the Houses of Parliament. Described by our guide as “Georgian with Victorian icing,” it is a solid, imposing structure with a flurry of intricately adorned turrets and towers.

A tour of the castle takes us through many of the rooms that are regularly featured in the TV series: the impressive mahogany-paneled library where Lord Grantham receives guests, the silk-lined drawing room where the ladies take tea, and the dining room in which the family is served breakfast and dinner.

Perhaps the most impressive space is the saloon, a medieval-style hall in the heart of the house surrounded by a spectacular 50-foot-high vaulted gallery. Leading off the gallery are the bedrooms of Lady Cora, Lady Sybil and Lady Edith (the scenes in Lady Mary’s bedroom are shot in a studio), and visitors also can see the staircase down which Mr. Kemal Pamuk was unceremoniously dragged after his untimely demise.

Interestingly, many of the show’s story lines were inspired by real-life events. Highclere was used as a hospital during the Great War, and the sixth earl also married a wealthy American heiress.

The eagerly anticipated third season began this month, before which all we knew was: A couple will meet at the altar, a baby will be born and someone will die. According to the Countess of Carnarvon, this season is “the best one yet.”

Rob McFarland is a freelance writer. A version of this story appeared in Luxury Travel magazine in Australia. E-mail: travel@sfchronicle.com

'Downton Abbey's' setting open for tours