Day 124 - Breaching the palace walls

Today promised to be sunnier than yesterday, so another walk with Lady Jane was in order. The plan: a trip to the grounds of Blenheim Palace (with Lady Jane hoping she isn't recognized by the great unwashed).

We drove through the countryside taking a small sideroad that took us through the tiny hamlet of Little Compton (not to be confused with the "Straight Outta" Compton of Los Angeles). A sudden clearing in the woodlots found a wide-open farm field ahead of us with far-reaching views back toward Moreton in Marsh and the Cotswold hills. It was so breathtaking, we had to stop for a photo.

From here, we drove passed the Rollright Stones, bypassed Chipping Norton and made our way into the town of Woodstock. The name means "clearing in the woods" and was a royal forest for the kings. It was here that Henry II had his trysts with fair Rosamund (see our previous blog post on that interesting story). It became famous for making gloves, but today its primary industry is tourism brought from living next to Blenheim Palace.

We didn't stop in Woodstock. Instead we went to the tiny village of Bladon famous for being where Churchill is buried. We found a place to park, then took a back entrance into the palace's park.

The palace was running its small-gauge train, so we joined the families making use of the train to take them to the palace gates.

A mannequin from the back appears in the mirror as a video
reflecting the first Duchess of Marlborough discussing the
building of Blenheim Castle.

As today was a Sunday, no guided tours were being offered of the palace; you could take yourself around the staterooms. However, what they were offering that they were not when Phil and I visited previously visit was a rather unique animated and interactive tour on the second floor (first floor in the UK). Not many people were opting for this, so Lady Jane and I took advantage of it.  The Untold Story has transformed rooms into theatrical sets and exhibition spaces covering 300 years of the palace's history. You are drawn through the exhibit by doors that open on timers. Video re-enactments of actual events are reproduced in each room using wonderful actors, telling stories of the architecture of the palace, the Battle of Blenheim, the Dukes and Duchesses and their servants. It's actually a fun way to learn a bit about the history.

We followed this up with our own self-guided tour of the staterooms. Despite having been here two weeks ago, I still learned a lot and had the pleasure of hearing the organ in the library being played. 

We lunched in The Water Terrace Cafe then took a walk through the nearby Terrace gardens before walking back to the car. Lady Jane dropped me at the Oxford rail station, promising to visit the Queen of the Cotswolds again soon.