An American Aristocrat's Guide to Great Estates

Nestled beside a loch in the Scottish Highlands is Inveraray Castle, a mid-18th century country house that brings in a staggering 130,000 visitors each year. Host Julie Montagu, Viscountess Hinchingbrooke travels to a remote corner of Scotland to see how its owners, the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, run their massive castle and sprawling 50,000-acre estate as both a business and private home. Julie attends the annual Inveraray Highland Games and has a go at the most challenging event: tossing the caber.

Floors Castle is the largest inhabited castle in Scotland, a massive and magnificent mansion sitting on approximately 52,000 acres of prime Scottish countryside. Julie Montagu, Viscountess Hinchingbrooke crosses the border to visit Guy Innes-Ker, the 10th Duke of Roxburghe, for a personalized tour of the castle’s grandest rooms and most fascinating stories. She’ll also get a lesson in table-setting from the castle’s butler, try her hand at fly-fishing, and get a VIP ticket to the prestigious Floors Castle International Horse Trials.

Holdenby House in Northamptonshire was once one of the largest palaces in England and was also a prison for King Charles I in the mid-1600s. Today, it’s the home of James and Karen Lowther, who over the years have invested millions on restoring it to its former glory and preserving it for future generations. Julie Montagu, Viscountess Hinchingbrooke visits the 2,000-acre estate and 75-room country house, where she gets a lesson in music, falconry, and how to keep an aging home aesthetically pleasing and profitable.

Julie Montagu, Viscountess Hinchingbrooke is a little nervous about her visit to Boughton House, and it’s no surprise why. Its owner, Richard Scott, holds two dukedoms and is the biggest individual landowner in Britain. Boughton House has been the home of Julie’s distant relatives and ancestors dating back nearly 500 years. Witness a unique family reunion, where Julie learns about the colorful Montagus who brought Boughton to life over the centuries, capped by a family supper hosted by Richard.

Doddington Hall is an Elizabethan prodigy house, built for a self-made businessman in 1595. Today, it’s the home of Claire and James Birch, who have transformed the grounds into a retail park open to the public. Host Julie Montagu, Viscountess Hinchingbrooke discovers how this modern couple maintains their estate, does a little shopping, takes a test-ride on one of the bike shop’s new electronic bicycles, and leads a yoga class for the Doddington staff.

Host Julie Montagu, Viscountess Hinchingbrooke makes a trip to Gloucestershire to visit Sudeley Castle, England’s ultimate fairytale wedding venue. Here, couples wander the same landscaped grounds that Renaissance royalty walked five centuries ago. Julie picks up tips on hosting weddings to take back to her estate, Mapperton in Dorset. She’ll also learn about Sudeley’s rich history of iconic residents, from Queen Catherine Parr, Henry VIII’s final wife, to the estate’s current custodian, Lady Ashcombe.