Christmas At Stately Homes Of England, Part I

Highclere Castle. Over 200 million worldwide fans know it as the setting of the hit TV series Downton Abbey. But the real Downton is home to a modern-day earl and countess. No, no, no, don't jump up at me, don't. It's boring. Ready, steady. Let's go. Who this festive season have invited us behind the scenes. It's a castle. The rooms are enormous, so the flower arrangements have to be enormous. As their staff help them prepare. Once I've cut it off, I can't put it back on. Why are we not working lights? For a highclere Christmas like no other. So there's a lot of challenges, aren't there? It's a big space to fill. But 2020 is a year full of uncertainty. I just hope that after all this work that we're allowed to have visitors. Look at my hands shaking. And it's going to take bulldog spirit... Raise up the balls! ..and a dose of seasonal cheer... Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas. It's Christmas! It's like arriving at Disneyland. ..to this year, create the magic... It's amazing. ..really magical ..at the home of Downton Abbey. Oi! Here. Go sit on the bench. Go sit on the bench. Go on. Up. Oh, well done! Do you want to stand with them? So what shall we say? Bonio! LAUGHTER That's it. The 8th Earl and Countess of Carnarvon have been running the Highclere Estate in Hampshire since 2001. But it's been the family's ancestral home for over 300 years. Where do you begin? It's not just this extraordinary building, but it's just this landscape you see all around us. It's just so spectacular. The imagination, the foresight, the ingenuity of my ancestors. It's just amazing, really. It's just a home which has so many different layers of history. It's welcomed so many extraordinary visitors. Kings, queens, lords and ladies have all been guests at Highclere. And as godson to the Queen, the Earl of Carnarvon and the Countess still used the castle's magnificent ground-floor staterooms to welcome royal guests and friends. But when the couple, who have been married for 21 years, became custodians, it was not fit for purpose. I remember just after my father sadly died in 2001, one of the first things we had to do in a real rush was to totally repair all the roof of the saloon out there. Because we had strategically placed buckets, didn't we, in different places? Yes. Water damage had left the building ravaged by rot, and restoring the castle and its estate to its former glory has so far cost an estimated £12 million. The ground floor's seven staterooms and the entire first floor are now beautifully restored. But work is ongoing on the once derelict top floor. There needs to be a business stream in order to support the infrastructure of the building. And whereas in the past this house and estate might have supported us in a glamorous life, to which we'd like to become accustomed, in today's world it is the obverse. We are working to support the house. The estate's biggest moneymaker is Downton Abbey. Six series of the TV hit have been made at Highclere since 2010. Its TV fame attracts over 60,000 paying visitors a year. We are avid fans of Downton Abbey, fallen in love with all of the characters and felt it only fitting to come along for the day. I liked the winding drive up here, and then it just kind of peaks out. It was also nice because as he was driving, I put the Downton Abbey soundtrack. Today is the last tour before Highclere closes its doors to prepare for Christmas, and warming up the guests is castle manager John. Right, is anyone going to admit it's normally a gentleman and it's normally his partner that nudges him and said you? Is anyone going to admit to not having watched Downton? Oh, there's three! Goodness me! So do come into the saloon. It's a wonderful space. We have this vaulted ceiling. I wanted the wow factor for that big statement house. So as you come through, the doors open out and suddenly it unfolds before you. The family use it for entertaining or parties, dancing, as they did in Downton. Some lovely photographs at the top of the stairs here of the Queen with the 6th Earl, the 7th Earl. The 7th Earl was her racing manager for 32 years, so some lovely pictures of her at the races and her horses winning. Absolutely fabulous that there's still a lord and a lady that still live in the building. It's just really wonderful. It's fabulous. It's a history, isn't it? You want to preserve that and support that as best you can. But I wouldn't want to pay the bills to look after the upkeep of this place, that's for sure. Thank you for coming. Travel safe. That's as impressive as watching it on the show. Straight on Instagram. Highclere has just three weeks to prepare for its Christmas season and after this year's Covid closures, the pressure is on for the castle to deliver. Has anyone else got a wet bottle? The Countess, or Lady Carnarvon as she's known to her staff, is heading up the festive plans and she's called a meeting to brief her small, tight-knit family of 12 Christmas helpers. Where's Sally? I'm here. Gift shop manager Sally, who's on her 10th Christmas at Highclere, is in charge of decorations for the castle. But you let me know next time that you... I know what you're going to say! What was that? What am I missing? I went for a pee in the urinals and found that I was in a Norwegian forest. Because I didn't turn the light on and hail, there was a Christmas tree in front of me. You've got new toes, John, the unexpected! So, Lady Carnarvon. Thank you all very much for gathering together. It is really important just to see how we can really make this Christmas something very meaningful and heartfelt with all the possible decorations we possibly can from Sally, so that people who come here have a moment apart and a world apart from what has been a really challenging year. A magical Christmas in a different way. And I think the trees are arriving tomorrow, aren't they, Paul? Head gardener Paul and Sally have 38 trees to put up in the castle and gardens. The only thing I need to just do is double-check the tree measurements inside the saloon. Last year's tree was wonderful because it was quite tall and narrow, which was perfect. Thank you for that helpful offering! You're doing it all again! I'm so dead keen on symmetry as well! Anything else to contribute? No? Ready, steady, go. In the courtyard staff outbuildings, Sally is making a start on the decorations and she's got her work cut out. It's a castle. The rooms are enormous, so the flower arrangements have to be enormous. This year it's a traditional Victorian theme and she's got 25 vases of elaborate floral arrangements to make. I do this all by hand because it's very important for our visitors that they see something that is unique to Highclere, that it's not something that can just be bought. So a lot of the other stately homes do these enormous light shows that cost a million pounds or whatever to put on, and I'm afraid Highclere has little old me! So this is what you get. So I think this one is pretty much finished. This year's interior decorations are destined for the castle's magnificent staterooms and two spectacular oak staircases. Right, so this one is going into the smoking room. Mind the carpet. And Lady Carnarvon's lending a hand. I'll need to do a bit of titivating. This one I just need... A bit more droopiness. ..one more droopiness. Sally is Chief Decorating Elf and I'm Assistant Christmas Elf. We've decided to do a deeply Victorian Christmas to think about Charles Dickens and this is such a Victorian castle to be entirely in keeping with it because I hope that is reassuring, charming, lovely and magical. So there's lots of challenges, aren't there? It's a big space to fill. Outside, the most important delivery of the season is arriving. Freshly cut trees. Mmm! Just need the turkey cooking, James. It's starting to feel like Christmas, yeah. Definitely. We've got 38 of Berkshire's finest trees for you, Paul. Which I am about to now start the fun bit of potting them all up. Time for Christmas. The Norwegian spruces will transform the castle's exterior into a winter wonderland, but one is destined to be Highclere's Christmas centrepiece in the Grand Saloon. Who wants to measure the big tree? And for the last eight years, cutting it down to size has been the responsibility of head gardener Paul. So long as it's not shorter than 23ft, we're OK. Because if we make it shorter, we can't make it longer. But it's always a tight squeeze. James, please. Thank you. Give me 28 and 3 eighths. Go on then, Paul, what is it? 26. Oh, no! 26, 9. Oh! Well, every year, the Christmas tree is a source of hilarity and rather hard work, isn't it? And this year, we have to get the angle of the fairy right. It's the perennial nightmare. All these chaps who are supposed to be so good at math, and they say, oh, no, if you point it 45 degrees to the right, it'll be just fine. And inevitably, she's facing the back wall! It's going to be cut about there. That's our maximum height. For some reason, I don't entirely know why, but it sort of has... This task each year has fallen on my shoulders. It could end up being the shortest tree we've ever had in the castle. This year, Paul's determined to deliver a perfect-fitting tree. Easy, easy, what could possibly go wrong? Morning, Sheena. Morning. Morning. You well? Very. Jolly good. At Highclere Castle, the countdown to Christmas has begun. Morning, Genevieve. If you got, join Sheena, Genevieve. Each day begins with the same ritual of opening up. But this morning, Castle Manager John's not woken up to good news. Well, we've been put back into lockdown and, of course, that's affected us. Rather than the planned opening in November, all hopes now rest on early December. Hopefully the government releases us. So we are taking a leap of faith and we will deliver Christmas for the customers that have booked and are wanting to come and visit us at Christmas. Outside, Highclere's transformation into a festive wonderland has begun. Oh, my lordy, lordy. Come here, big boy. And nothing is going to keep Chief Elf Sally down. Her attention has turned to Dancer, Prancer, Vixen and Rudolph. I love Christmas and you couldn't ask for a better canvas than Highclere Castle. It is the Highclere herd. I need to inspect them and one or two have got a bit of a dodgy leg so they'll have to have a little bit of a repair job on them. What are you stuck on? James, this is where we need you. James, you're not supposed to be standing there looking pretty. At the front of the castle, there's 38 trees in need of decoration and titivation. There's a lot of these blooming baubles to put on the tree. But I'm looking forward to a cup of coffee in a second so everything will look better. With over 5,000 baubles and over a mile of fairy lights, Lady Carnarvon is lending her support. How important is attention, the detail for you? Well, otherwise Sally will come along and turn me off. So it's quite straightforward. She'll make us do it again if she's not happy. This is her Chief Elf moment. Inside, the staterooms are waiting for their Christmas makeover. Oh, right, Louis, let's make a plan. But first, in the drawing room, butler Louis and housekeeper Sheena have been tasked with the precarious job of getting some sparkle back into its 130-year-old chandelier. Was it meant to move? No. Under the watchful eye of John. But Louis, do take care because that is starting to swing like Tarzan's vine. 365 pieces of separate crystal in the chandelier, which stands just under six foot. Amazing work, really, in each piece of glass cut. Beautiful, beautiful, unless you've got the cleanest each year. The chandelier was part of a generous wedding dowry for the fifth Earl's wife, Almena, the illegitimate daughter of millionaire banker Alfred de Rothschild, who in 1890 spent a small fortune making Highclere one of the first houses in Britain to be electrified. You should be laughing, Sheena. I'm going to be like three years off my wages. Look at my hands shaking. Let's switch it on and see what it looks like. Well, I can't now. Wow. You can easily tell the difference now, can't you? You can see what we haven't done yet, but we might live till tomorrow. Oh, look, baubles everywhere. They are shedding. With Highclere's interior now sparkling, Sally's raring to add some festive cheer, starting with the castle's two magnificent oak staircases. Now, we have a rather graveyard of baubles. Stop, stop, stop. There's never enough hands for this job. Highclere is a grade one listed building. These elegant 200-year-old staircases took the best part of a year to carve and install and must be decorated with kid gloves. We have to be so careful when we're attaching the garland to the staircase. We use ribbon to tie it on so that no wire can scratch the banister or anything like that because my life wouldn't be worth living if it did. We swag it all the way up the stairs and we've tied in a bow at every swag which gets through an enormous amount of lovely glittery silver ribbon and covers the whole place with glitter. Which is Sheena the housekeeper's least favourite bit of Christmas, I think. It looks spectacular, actually, doesn't it? Yeah, only another 140 odd metres to go. Yay! Christmas is a big draw for visitors to Highclere, but down in the cellars, Lord Carnarvon's created an Egyptian museum. Built in 2013, it's been a huge boost for ticket sales ever since. It is one of the greatest adventure stories in British history. The finding of the only intact tomb of the ancient pharaoh. His great-grandfather and the archaeologist Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922. In this room, we have an incredible copy of the actual mummy that Howard Carter had such difficulty in getting out of the tomb. On display for Highclere's visitors are replicas of the original artefacts now housed in Cairo's Egyptian museum. I think people, once they get here and they realise a bit more of the whole thing, they're astounded and delighted by the fact that this story is part of the family history. I mean, in the world as a whole, of course. I suppose Downton and the iconic master Tutankhamen, maybe they're roughly both the same. I mean, I think he's been seen by hundreds of millions of people to photograph and they now reckon that over 300 million people have seen Downton Abbey's show. So I can't really say which one is more famous. Outside, the courtyard trees are primped and preened for the visitors. It's all going a bit pear-shaped already. But Sally still has a six-metre long garland to erect. It'll probably still have to be titivated once it's up there. She's called in reinforcements. Paul and the farm troops. OK. Move off. OK. So the bow and the bauble need to come over to me a bit. I've called rank. It's the farm JCB, so the gardeners have to go in the basket. Do you want Sally here to check the baubles hang in dead centre? Are baubles always hang in dead centre, James? She'll moan if it's wrong. I pull the bow out to make it bigger and then your little saggy bits aren't sagging down quite so much. OK, we need to do something about that. What about the bow? The bow needs to be pulled out and it needs to go right by about an inch and a half. Are those baubles hanging too low? Yes, they are, James, they are. Right. I've puffed up your bows. OK, and then we need to, I can't think of a polite way of putting this, raise up the baubles. Right, if I hang like that, you happy? Yes, lovely jubbly. Thank you. Christmas preparations may be in full swing, but Lord Carnarvon is still responsible for the day-to-day running of the wider estate and its 5,000 acres of farm and park lands. Quite high here really for this part of the world. By the time we get to the top, we're over 850 feet above sea level. And we can have a fantastic view in all directions. Well, not today, perhaps, because it's foggy, but I don't know if you can still see 25 miles to the south. With a question mark hanging over their December opening, Lord Carnarvon's feeling the pressure. This has just been a very difficult year. Covid's obviously been very disruptive and we were totally closed between the last week of March and the middle effectively of July, and we lost all our Easter and our early summer special events business. That was a big hit for us. It's really important that we can open again in the lead-up to Christmas, because like many places, we have to somehow get people in to be spending money again to pay for our overhead. It is our job to try and maintain this building and it's around us today. The castle, when Charles Barry was building it for my ancestor, the third Earl of Carnarvon, that was a very advanced technology and building for its time, because he was also doing the Houses of Parliament. That's quite a legacy really, one way or another. We're all tenants for our lifetime in these amazing places and we don't want to be the one that somehow screws it up and everything falls apart. That's the sort of thing you always think about. It's a week until the start of High Clear's Christmas season. The top half of this bit isn't lit. The castle is a hive of activity. It's Christmas! Christmas. Christmas is upon us. And we're the Christmas fairies. Traditionally, festivities at High Clear can only begin once the main Christmas tree is twinkling in the Grand Saloon. And castle manager John and butler Louis are preparing for the 23-foot tree's arrival. We're just clearing the space. And then no doubt the ladies will come in and will have put it all in the wrong place. So the circle of life continues to turn. But an air of uncertainty still hangs over the December opening date. You can't open a castle up like this with no notice, let alone at Christmas when people are expecting a little bit more. So we're going to carry on in readiness. Fingers crossed we will be open and welcoming people. I might fart when I lift this. This, Louis, as you will know, is the only time this table ever moves. For obvious reasons, we try and move it as little as we possibly can because it does weigh the amount of a baby elephant. Ooh, well caught! You should be playing cricket. With filming we used to move this furniture so many times. Didn't we? I did get caught out one night in this particular little hallway in that I was watching the filming. Lord and Lady Carnarvon had come in and we had ventured to this point here. And then it became obvious that the principals were going to come this way. I decided to hide in here. And I could fit very much easier than I can today. So I hid in here and just hoped that the scene wouldn't come past me or at least the cameras wouldn't. And then Elizabeth and I'm pretty sure it was with Richard E. Grant stopped opposite me and I just waved at them. And everybody smiled, they did their scene and cut was announced rather quickly and I fled to find Lord and Lady Carnarvon in hysterics round the corner. That was the closest I got to being in Downton. With the stage set for the Christmas centrepiece Head Gardener Paul faces the daunting task of trimming it to Lady Carnarvon's precision requirement of 23 feet. How's it going to fit? It's going to fit like that, isn't it? Once in place and upright the branches can't be allowed to spread more than three metres or the tree will block the doorways. This side's two metres and the other side's two metres. That means our width is going to be four metres. Once I've cut it off I can't put it back on. But if these branches are too long then I have to cut them off anyway. So we might have to sacrifice a bit of height this year to have the width correct. But will Paul's brutal short back and sides be enough? It's still two metres wide. I don't want to chicken out of making a decision. But quite often you can make a decision and somebody else thinks it's wrong. My thoughts now are to go back to Lady Carnarvon and forgive them my predicament. Nobody's answering the phone. They've all gone to the pub. But it's a bit early in the day for a tipple and there's work to be done across the estate. I think we have a hungry person coming already. Lord and Lady Carnarvon are down in the paddocks feeding their 17 horses. There's so much going on in and around the castle we're getting all the Christmas decorations, trees, preparation, the gift shop. It's good to come out and be with our friends the horses. I think you can feel somehow relaxed and peaceful with them. That's what when they're about to eat their food they're all being stroppy about whether they're going to get their food or not. No, my bucket, not yours. I think I've managed to put their breakfast over my face. We've been completely dumb as well. Mind you, my husband did not make me breakfast this morning. He made himself a bacon sarnie and failed to remember he was married. Horses are far more than just a hobby. There's been a stud at Highclere for over 100 years dedicated to breeding racing thoroughbreds. Sarah was a fast racer. Very successful. Our first foal's actually won a little race and been placed a few times this year so we have some excitement about her. Racing runs in Lord Carnarvon's blood. His father, Lord Porchester, was racing manager to the Queen. Affectionately known as Porchy, he was a close confidant to Her Majesty. He was privileged enough to be a friend of the Queen for many years. Of course they both share this enormous enthusiasm and knowledge of the thoroughbreds so he helped her with her stud operation and they had quite a few excitement over the years really with some very successful horses. But one of the best was aptly named Highclere. Well, I'm going to get myself a cup of coffee but I'm not going to get you one. No, I'm in the doghouse about that. Back at the castle, the gardens are getting a final festive flourish. The banqueting marquee has been erected and 24 trees line the grand driveway. And in the barn, Paul has been left to use his initiative. OK, Ben, that's that. It's trimmed, it's cut, all we need to do now is take it into a castle. Easy. What could possibly go wrong? The star of Highclere's Christmas show is making its grand entrance. It really does feel as if Christmas is about starting. It's been such a strange year that everything feels a little bit uncertain but this is a really good sight. It's such a great big tractor, isn't it? The tractor looks fantastic. It's an annual tradition for the entire staff to come together to install and decorate the grand saloon tree. I'm fairly confident the tree will fit. The 23-foot Nordman fir weighs three-quarters of a tonne. Are you all right? Yeah, I'm bringing up the rear with John. It's not fitting. Nearly there. Fantastic. The tree's in. It's a great moment. But I remember my grandfather being around here and presents all dotted around the bottom of it and us being up here on Christmas Day. So, yeah, that was fun memories of the past, really. I have a fairy, the lovely Victorian fairy. Would you like your fairy pointing that way? I want my fairy pointing straight up. But which way? OK, so we're all going to have to lift the tree. Ready? Steady? Are we good? We're good. Let's go. The tree is winched into place just as it's been every Christmas for the last century with the Lord at the helm and some good old-fashioned welly. Well done! That was quite a heavy tree. We've put a bit of muscle power into it. But it was a bit of useful hard work for us and I think the tree's going to look absolutely fantastic. Whilst the tree is a perfect fit... I'm happy. Sally's spotted a problem. She is facing completely the wrong direction. Happens every year. The fairy always faces the wrong way. This is what I mean about the maths. I was rubbish at it and obviously so was everyone else. Who attacked the fairy? You did. No, you did not! The fairy always goes on the wall. There's only one thing for it. A bit of brute force. Right, are we ready? One, two, three, go! Can someone just watch the picture, please? Is this the third Earl of Caernarvon on the painting? Yes, it is. It is the third Earl of Caernarvon so he doesn't want to be tickled under the chin. OK, hang on, we've got another few degrees to go round. One, two, three... Heave! Stop! Stop! Stop! That was worth all the effort, Sally. Is the fairy looking to the east? Slightly, but it's better than it was. As well as the saloon centrepiece, there's the rest of the castle to transform into a Victorian wonderland. I just think this looks lovely. 25 staff pitch in. I don't think anything could beat that chandelier. We could have a sparkle-off. It's giving it a good run for its money but I think the chandelier is always going to win. It's a feast of glittering gold and baubles and bows galore. The saloon is mainly done. We'll leave the garlands round the top till the last minute. From the glorious staircase to the 6,000-book library to the elegant drawing room, the stateroom's sumptuous seasonal transformation is complete. Sally, can I ask you, have I got as much glitter on my face as you've got on yours? I am absolutely coated with glitter. It's been a long day but everyone's efforts have paid off. Christmas has finally arrived at Highclere. Today's served its purpose. The tree is no longer on a trailer. It's sitting where it should be. And for now, the saloon has a new resident for the next few weeks. So I just hope that after all this work that we're allowed to have visitors. I think all the staff that work here do it for a sort of vicarious enjoyment through visitors leaving happy. It does look quite special at this time of year. But with just three days to go before opening, uncertainty still remains as to how government will lift lockdown. For visitors to be allowed, Highclere has to be in tier two. If nobody else gets to see it, it's sort of such a disappointment. The decorations come more alive when there are lots of people in it. This house needs an audience. When I came in this morning into the saloon, the Christmas tree makes its presence felt before you see it by the fact that you can smell that Christmassy, sprucey, piney, sappy smell that always reminds me of my childhood. The smell of Christmas trees. All over Highclere, there's an air of celebration. Lockdown has been lifted in Hampshire and the castle is allowed to open. In the banqueting marquee, Louis is dressed in his butler's best all to welcome visitors for afternoon tea. Yeah, so we're in lockdown, but luckily we are tier two, so we're allowed to be open, so I guess we are the lucky ones. Everybody's still more jolly, and again, after the earheads, really people looking forward to Christmas. Let's see how many people come through the door, actually, don't we? No batteries in it, I don't think. The doors open in half an hour, but housekeeper Sheena has run into an annual problem. Spend quite a lot of time trying to find switches for lights. Why are we not working lights? This is really frustrating, not having lights that do... Oh, for ****'s sake. And John is still tidying up from the installation. Are you okay, John? Not everything's going according to plan. No, can't find any of these blinking lights. This is just the tip of the year we're in. There are ladders behind the door. General rule of thumb, if you're going to have an accident, don't do it where housekeeping can hear. It's all perfect, Sheena. Down in Highclere Cellars, the kitchens are back in action after a month-long rest. It's nice to be back at work, see the lads again, catch up on who's been doing what. Firstly, getting ready for this sort of season, so now we'll start firing all cylinders. Ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas. Outside, guests are already starting to arrive. Hello, ladies. If you pass that to Paul, he will scan you in, ladies. I hope you enjoy your time. Thank you for coming. Most years, Christmas sees 1,000 people a day descend on the castle. But this season, numbers are restricted to just 100 for more intimate tours. It was actually a surprise Christmas present from my mother-in-law, so she didn't actually know where we were going until we got here. She thought we were going to an abbey, and as I say, total surprise. Arrived in the car, turned round, and went, that's Downton Abbey. Not even the weather is going to dampen the spirits of lockdown being lifted. It feels magical, it does. It's great. Even with the rain, it's not even going to spoil it for me. We've all been shut in again for a month, and it's the first time out for us, isn't it? Which has made it extra special. So I think it was the first time we felt this season. It is, yes, it was very nice. I trust some of you are observational people, like to think you don't miss anything. Do you know how many Christmas trees you have walked past down the drive? There's a lady turning around trying to count now. No one takes any notice. No one notices. How many trees have you walked past on the drive? 24. Well done! Right answer! It's like arriving at Disneyland. Yeah, it is, a little bit. I'm most excited to see a huge Christmas tree, and I'm a big lover of Victorian Christmases, so I can't wait to see that. Well, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Lovely to see you on this not very lovely day. Leading the Christmas Castle Tours, Head Guide Diana. Now you can see our wonderful Christmas tree. Really rather lovely. It gets you into the Christmas spirit. How tall do you think it is? 18 feet. Well, we're getting there. 24. You're about spot on, sir. Well done. And in fact, when we were filming Downton Abbey, they had the tree here, but they actually had it in June and July, which was a bit off-putting, with the roaring of fires, and outside it was lovely and warm. As the visitors enjoy the festive glow inside, outside the catering team is battling the elements. With guests paying £85 a ticket for a tour and a festive tea, it's down to Chef Paul to make sure it's both top-notch and goes off without a hitch. We're a good 400 metres plus away from my kitchen. If we were to bring the stand over in this rain, as much as we cover it before it gets here, one drop of rain will ruin it, and it's not a risk that Louis and I are willing to take when it comes to customers' food. We've got to serve from here. It's not ideal, but that's what we have to do. Right, music on, guys. We need to get the music going, and we're literally about ten minutes away from all the guests here, OK? Inside, mercifully, the visitors are blissfully unaware of the behind-the-scenes catering chaos. How many more boulders do you think there are on the tree, ladies and gentlemen? Thousands. No more questions, no more things? Let's take you downstairs, then, for the final part. This is the first Christmas thing I've done so far, so this is a good start to the beginning of the season. It was so beautiful. All the different trees decorated. Especially the big one. It made me want to sing Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells rock. It was just lovely. It was amazing, really magical. It's beautiful, and the whole house just felt welcoming and festive. They've done it as if it hasn't really changed for maybe a hundred years. Actually, I think we felt really lucky getting to walk around without hordes of crowds here. It felt really personal. But it's just good to have people back here again. It was a little touch and go as to whether it really was going to be early December or later. And it's just good to have people around again, and people are so happy to be out, coming here, doing something, and having a good time. After all the struggles of 2020, Highclere's first day of the Christmas season is a triumph. You hungry? Look at this. And the cream teas have weathered the storm. Have you tried scones before? Which way do you put the cream? Cream first. No! Enjoy. Thank you. We love it. We've always wanted to come here. Arriving at Downton was something we always wanted to do, and we were very impressed. We keep calling it Downton because it's just so easy to get it confused. Highclere. Yeah, Highclere. It's the opulence that we love. The whole experience is really great. Yeah. I'm really tired today. My legs are aching. But it's a sense of happiness. Job done. That's what I work for, and I hope you have a good day. Good night, everyone. See you in the morning. Night, night. Merry Christmas, Sheena. Thank you for all you've done today. Well, we've got through number one of our Christmas opening, John, so thank you for all you've done. Lou and his team did really well, and the kitchen seemed to find a way of working as well. It's been good. I really hope our guests had a really nice day out, so thank you. For Highclere's hard-working staff, there's a busy December ahead. But for tonight, it's job done and time for some well-deserved festive fun under the Christmas tree. So we've made it to the end of day one. Here we are. We've opened successfully. It's a fantastic team. I couldn't do this without the help that I get from everybody else. We all have strong bonds here. Everyone is just amazingly supportive. John's always in the background with his laughter. Catch! No, it's three ladies. We have fought together through lockdown, and we've fought our way through the summer, through such challenging times, and, you know, when we are fighting our way through Christmas in our effort to survive. Oh, that one's heavy. That one's mine. I just hope we can kind of dig deep, double on down, with ever more people. These are all mine. See you after Christmas. I think you'd be sorely disappointed in the contents. Still in my life, that is. I'm not sure I'm really going to bother that much with Christmas in my own house. I'll leave that to the children to organise.