A Visit to Blenheim Palace

Today we were off to Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, not far to the north of Oxford...so after a short battle with the traffic on the A34 we were there. After driving through Woodstock, yet another quaint English town, we passed through the Palace gate to park the car...and were struck by the enormity of the 2,000 acres of landscaped park and gardens and the grandeur of the Palace itself. We were also amazed at the hive of activity that we found ourselves in...they were busy setting up for a couple of big events over the next couple of weekends and there were marquees going up all over the place. Fortunately, that with the exception of one of them, they did not intrude on our visit.

One of the first things you see...Vanbrugh's Grand Bridge over Queen Pool

The Entrance Courtyard

Looking out the gates (usually closed) across the Grand Bridge to the Column of Victory

We entered the Palace Courtyard to discover even more activity...this time it was a film crew recording a series for US television. They were all over the main entrance and would have disrupted our visit if our plans hadn't been different...the weather forecast was for possible rain in the afternoon so we had decided to tour the gardens first. Of the two suggested routes, we took the Lake and Cascade walk first. This took us from the Water Terraces, past the Rose Garden and down to the Cascades and Pump House before returning past the Lake and the Boat House to the start at the Water Terraces. Our second garden walk then took us to the very formal Italian Garden and on to the Secret Garden before returning again to the Water Terraces.

The Grand Entrance...complete with film crew

 

The Water Terraces

 

Inside the Rose Garden

 

At the Cascades...constructed to create the Main Lake

Looking back along Main Lake with the Palace just visible above the trees

Blenheim Palace from below the Water Terraces

Looking over the Italian Garden

Looking back at the Palace

At the entrance to the Secret Garden

Inside the Secret Garden

The Roundel

It had only taken us two hours to walk the gardens so it was time for lunch...and sitting in the sun at the Water Terraces while enjoying lunch was wonderful. After lunch it was time to explore inside the Palace. Blenheim Palace was built in the early 18th Century as a gift to the First Duke of Marlborough...John Churchill. Due to the lack of a male heir, the linage somewhat unusually passed to the Second Duchess and the name became Spencer. Moving forward in time, the name of Churchill reappeared and the most famous of Churchills, Sir Winston, was born here in 1874. Although not in direct line for the title, Winston spent his boyhood at Blenheim Palace. The displays at Blenheim are, therefore, a mixture of the heritage of the Dukes and Duchesses of Marlborough, the history of Blenheim Palace and the life of Sir Winston Churchill. Altogether, this makes it a fascinating place to visit.

Lunch by the Water Terraces

The Grand Entrance...without film crew

Inside the Grand Entrance

 

Inside the State Rooms

Looking down the Long Room...at 180 feet it is the second longest in England

Inside the Chapel

After our guided tour of the State Rooms and our stroll through the rest of the exhibits, it was getting quite late and we were exhausted. We decided to pass up on visiting the remainder of the gardens...which turned out to be an excellent decision as the threatening rain came bucketing down a short time later.