We spent the day at the amazing baroque manor, Blenheim Palace in Woodstock.
A UNESCO site, Blenheim Palace is home to the current (12th) Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and was the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. The palace was built as a gift to General John Churchill, 1st duke of Marlborough from Queen Anne in thanks for his victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704.
As the current Duke and Duchess still live in the palace, tourists are only allowed to see limited spaces. We toured the Grand Hall, the State Rooms and Churchill’s bedroom.
Formal gardens surround the palace, created over the years by esteemed garden designers. We visited the small rose garden, walled garden and secret garden before wandering down to the Grand Cascade waterfall on the River Glyme.
The Harry Potter Tree is a 250+ year old Cedar of Lebanon with a large hole in its trunk. The tree was featured in the movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as the place Severus Snape was bullied by James Potter in his flashbacks.
Lunch was at the Stables where we ate a halloumi salad and quiche. And we tried a Pimms and lemonade – a type of gin with a secret combination of botanicals. We’ve heard of it, but never really knew what it was.
Dinner was at The Blue Boar. A Freehouse is an independent pub that is not beholden to any brewery, so it can sell whatever beer it chooses
Tomorrow we leave Chipping Norton and head to Winchcombe.
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