THE DOWNTON ESTATE

Hidden in the rolling hills straddling the Counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire lies The Downton Estate: 5,000 acres of magnificent English Countryside and divided by the River Teme which cuts through a deep limestone gorge on its way from the Welsh Hills to the Severn Estuary.

The Estate overlooks the traditional market town of Ludlow, described by the poet John Betjeman as `probably the loveliest town in Britain, Downton is a land of steep valleys and sweeping hills, the whole dotted with ancient redbrick farmhouses and archaic stone barns.

Although farming practices have changed over the generations, the landscape has remained the same, and Downton continues to symbolise the continuity of successful land ownership.