Downton Abbey is set on a fictional Yorkshire country estate called Downton Abbey. The story is said to take place in Yorkshire, England, with fictional references to towns in North and West Yorkshire. However, the real-life filming location representing the Downton Abbey estate is Highclere Castle, located in Hampshire, England. Highclere Castle serves as the main filming site for the castle and estate seen in the series and films. The fictional village scenes were mainly filmed in Bampton Village, Oxfordshire. Other filming locations include historic sites across Great Britain such as Alnwick Castle and various villages.