1. BLENHEIM: EXPLORE THE PARK, GARDENS and PALACE, WOODSTOCK, Oxfordshire OX20 1PP together with THE TOWN OF WOODSTOCK + possibly OXFORD (covered by another guide)

Updated May 2021

A series of Self-guided Driving Tours to places of interest in the North Cotswolds and beyond

Distance from Ilmington: 22 miles

An easy drive from our cottage (www.houfy.com/1016). It takes about 30 minutes to get to Woodstock. Take the road to Oxford from our local small town of Shipston on Stour.

Blenheim Palace https://www.blenheimpalace.com is open year round except between mid-December and mid-February when the palace itself is closed but the park remains open. In the Park, the illuminated Christmas Trail operates right over the Christmas period (closed on Christmas Day itself).

You can visit just the park and gardens or Palace, park and gardens. The full ticket can be converted into an annual pass at no extra cost and there is no limit to the number of visits. It is easy to spend an entire day there so even if you are only staying a week in the area, you may want to come back and make it worth the quite high price of entry. It must be said here that if all you want to do is explore large parts of the Blenheim estate (mostly the wooded bit) on a walk, then you don't have to pay at all but follow the map for the public rights of way through the estate. Here is how to find the entrance from Woodstock https://www.freeblenheim.com/free-entry-to-blenheim/ or in this description from Walking Britiain, a different entrance to the park https://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/walk-3357-description

Access to the Palace, park and gardens: You drive straight through the main gates on the Oxford side of Blenheim. Ask for 'Park and Gardens' ticket at the kiosks on the drive if you do not want to see the Palace as well, but I recommend you include it. Parking is free.

The ‘Park and Gardens’ tickets give you access to two thousand acres of stunning parkland, landscaped by Capability Brown, the formal Gardens, the lake, free train rides on the miniature train to the Pleasure Gardens and all attractions at the Pleasure Gardens including the Marlborough Maze, Adventure Play Area, the Butterfly House (closed from end of October) the lavender garden, and the "Blenheim Bygones" exhibition. It also includes entrance to the popular permanent exhibition - ‘Churchill's Destiny’ - The story of the great war leader's exhibition. You can also of course admire the outside of the Palace close up – a fine example of English Baroque architecture and home of the Dukes of Marlborough. Sir Winston Churchill was born here. It is an ideal (fair weather!) day out for children and adults alike. Small children would probably be bored by the interior of the Palace and the exhibitions but they love all there is to see and do in the grounds.

Having exhausted yourselves with walking the gardens and parklands and maybe the Palace itself, you can have a very pleasant browse in the shop or eat at one of the restaurants. I recommend the Orangery for a 'proper' lunch. You can then wander into the town of Woodstock itself, which is a charming North Cotswold town only a few miles from Oxford.

If you don’t want to spend a whole day here, of course you can go into Oxford for the rest of the day and if you don’t want to negotiate central Oxford traffic you are probably best to park your car at Pear Tree roundabout Park and Ride and take the bus in. Get car park ticket from the cash machine – you don’t have to go back to the car as you input the registration number here. Pay the bus driver on the bus for the trip in – they have a ‘2 to go’ return fare which is discounted. In Oxford, see a college or two, Christ Church and Magdalen being the two most famous ones, visit the Sheldonian, go up Carfax tower or Oxford Castle. Perhaps spend some time in the wonderful bookshop - Blackwells in Broad Street. It is wise to do some research before visiting Oxford as there is so much to see and many interesting organized walking tours are possible.

Another day, perhaps on the way to Blenheim again (having converted your ticket to an annual one), you could stop off at the Rollright Stones near Long Compton. https://www.rollrightstones.co.uk/ and further on divert to the picture postcard village of Great Tew to have lunch at the pretty thatched pub there, The Falkland Arms.