June 17, 2025 - This morning it's a 45 minute drive to Blenheim Palace in Woodstock. Blenheim is the birthplace and "home" of Winston Churchill. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough (and still is). Churchill was born here and visited often since his Uncle lived there. He proposed to his wife Clementine here (he had proposed to 3 other women prior to her and had only received "no's"). We did a garden tour and then a house tour. Both were quite good with lots of info about the history of the building. Tickets were $55/each, but were worth the cost. After Blenheim we'll drive 20 minutes to Oxford to explore there.
Nice kitchen in our Airbnb
beautiful backyard
We stopped in Chipping Norton for breakfast and I found a nice clock tower
Nash's for pastries
that's a table full of treats
we walked around town for a bit
Quite the grand entrance to Blenheim Palace
gardens behind the palace
The Temple of Diana where Churchill proposed to Clementine in the gardens of Blenheim
Rose garden
A lake was dug out in the small river that ran through the palace grounds (it took 1000 men 10 years to build). Palace is on the hill
we of course brought a pack lunch and had a nice spot to eat
the clocktower (with a crown on it!)
ceiling in the entryway of the palace
chaperone couch (the right side end has a spot for the chaperone)
lots of tapestries, this one spanned a corner
huge organ at one end of the long library
other end of the long library
view of the clocktower from the roof (it was 109 stairs up)
the maze
which was harder than we thought it would be!
Martyrs Memorial in Oxford
there are lots and lots of bikes in Oxford. We drove in, but if you don't have an EV you have to pay a fee because only EV's are allowed (it was 4 pounds)
the bridge of sighs
entrance to the Bodliean Library on the Oxford Campus
the courtyard of the library
It seemed like graduation was going on today (lots of kids in black and white and robes)
more bikes
We climbed the steps to the top of the University Church of St Mary's of the Virgin (whose oldest surviving parts were from the 13th century)
Radcliffe Library
All Souls College
A clock tower in the distance
Pride flags everywhere
the stairs were really narrow
June 18, 2025 - Today we're going to wander some of the towns of the Cotswolds. Our first town is Burford, about 30 minutes from Chipping Campden. Next we will go to Bibury (20 minutes away) to see the Arlington Row, which was built in 1380 as a wool store, it was converted to a row of cottages for weavers in the 17th century and is the most photographed spot in the Cotswolds. Next we will drive 20 minutes to Bourton-on-the-Water. Next a quick stop at lavender farm near Chipping Campden before heading home for a few beers and dinner at Michael's a Mediterranean Restaurant.
St John the Baptist Church in Burford
building work began on the church in 1175 and was completed by 1500.
I loved these hinges on one of the doors to the church
We walked around Burford before most of the stores were open (and before all the tourists got here)
we walked up one side of the main street
and down the other
pretty flowers everywhere
recreation ground that way
post offices are shared with a local shop
We made it to Arlington Row in Bibury
💘
pretty cottages, but lots of tourists
Next it's Bourton-on-the-Water where we had our pack lunch with a view of River Windwush, which was a very shallow river that dogs and kids liked to play in.
There were even more tourists here
Who doesn't like an old new Inn?
The Bourton-on-the-Water Model Village. This is a 1:9 scale of the village that was built from 1936-1940. It contains around 100 buildings of Bourton.
Godzilla is terrorizing the village!
Whatcha see in there Kev?
Kev at the lavender farm
beers down the street from our Airbnb
calamari in a very weird bowl
chicken kabab, we are eating very well!
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