Owner of Downton Abbey hits out out at coronavirus road map
Lady Carnarvon says the Government isn't listening to stately home and hospitality business owners
Last updated 25th Feb 2021
The owner of the stately home used in Downton Abbey has hit out at the Government’s “catastrophic” road map for easing coronavirus restrictions.
The Countess of Carnarvon questioned why Highclere Castle in Hampshire would not be able to open its doors to visitors until May 17 at the earliest under the timetable set out by Boris Johnson.
She claimed there is “inconsistency” in the approach because indoor shopping could be allowed from April 12.
Lady Carnarvon told us: "It seems very arbitrary that we've been told we can't open and I do not really understand why it is so dangerous to walk around Highclere Castle when you can walk around a department store or some of the other non-essential shops. I don't understand it
“It is devastating to have one of the longest lockdowns in the world and yet to have one of the most successful vaccination programmes, and by April nearly all of our audience and our guests would have have been vaccinated - I don't get it!
"I'm not sure how many of the current cabinet have tried running a business you don't just turn a tap on overnight it takes weeks and months to get it back together again, so I would like to begin in a careful covid secure practical fashion.
"There's only so long you can carry on doing this for (closed in lockdown) and you don't suddenly start earning money it's going to take us five years to get us back to the position we were in. That's not going forwards that's just rectifying where we were"
The road map includes a five-week gap between its four steps to allow the impact of relaxations to be measured to see whether there is an increase in infections which could put unsustainable pressure on the health service.
While shops, outdoor hospitality and personal care services can resume on April 12 at the earliest, indoor entertainment venues will have to wait another five weeks.