My parents came to visit for a week and we had a
wonderful time together exploring Oxford and some of the nearby
countryside. One of our favorite
discoveries was Blenheim Palace, just 8 miles north of Oxford.
Blenheim Palace is a world heritage site, home of the 11th Duke of
Marlborough and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. It is also considered to be one of the finest
manor houses in the country and I can see why.
Originally it was a gift from Queen Anne and a grateful nation to John
Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, in recognition of his famous victory over
the French at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. It is now the home of the 11th
Duke of Marlborough and is lived in and cared for by the 11th generation of the family for whom it was
built.
Every
bit as impressive as the house, are the formally landscaped grounds. One could
spend days just wandering through the 2100 acres of gardens and forests. I look forward to retuning in the spring and
summer when the grounds are in bloom.
We
also had a chance to visit friends at Buckland Manor in the charming Cotswold
village of Buckland. The countryside of
the Cotswolds Hills is so picturesque that I often feel like I’ve stumbled upon
a film set and, if I look around, I’ll see a BBC film crew filming some scene
for the latest Pride and Prejudice movie or for a Downton Abbey special.
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| Blenheim Palace |
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| The Churchill Exhibition includes the room where Sir Winston Churchill was born 1874. |
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| We were here at the end of February when not much was in bloom. |
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| Even so, the grounds are spectacular. |
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| My wonderful parents! |
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| The skies are sometimes every bit as beautiful here as the land. |
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| Blenheim Palace has been used in several films (see the list below) |
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| Buckland Manor in the Cotswolds |
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A perfect place for an late afternoon tea!
Films shot at
Blenheim Palace:
Gulliver’s Travels (Jack Black, Emily
Blunt, James Corden, Catherine Tate, Billy Connolly) Fox UK Productions, 2010
The Young Victoria (Emily Blunt,
Rupert Friend, Miranda Richardson) Jean-Marc Vallee Director, Producer – Graham
King and Martin Scorsese, 2008
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Warner Brothers,
2007
The Libertine (Jonny Depp) Weinstein Company, 2004
The Lost Prince BBC Film Talkback
Productions, 2003
The Four Feathers (Heath Ledger)
Paramount Pictures, 2002
Kabi Khushi Kabhie Gham Yash Raj films,
2001
Just Visiting French time travel movie, 2001
Entrapment 20th Century Fox, 1999
The Avengers Warner Brothers, 1998
Hamlet (Kenneth Brannagh) Castle Rock, 1996
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Harrison Ford),
1989
Orlando, 1982
History of the World, Part 1 (Mel Brooks), 1981
Young Winston Directed by Richard Attenborough,
1972
The Scarlet Pimpernal (Leslie Howard),
1934
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