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Blenheim Palace Review

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Blenheim Palace

Address: Woodstock
Phone: 01993/811325
www.blenheimpalace.com

Category: Castles/Palaces, Gardens/Arboretums
Location: Woodstock

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Fodor's Review:

So grandiose is Blenheim's masonry and so breathtaking are its articulations of splendor that it was named a World Heritage Site, the only historic house in Britain to receive the honor. Built by Sir John Vanbrugh in the early 1700s, Blenheim was given by Queen Anne and the nation to General John Churchill, first duke of Marlborough. The exterior is mind-boggling, with its huge columns, enormous pediments and obelisks, all exemplars of English baroque. Inside, lavishness continues in monumental extremes. In most of the opulent rooms, great family portraits look down at sumptuous furniture, tapestries illustrating important battles, and immense pieces of silver. For some visitors, however, the most memorable room is the small, low-ceiling chamber where Winston Churchill (his father was the younger brother of the then-duke) was born in 1874; he is buried in nearby Bladon.

Sir Winston wrote that the unique beauty of Blenheim lay in its perfect adaptation of English parkland to an Italian palace. Indeed the 2,000 acres of grounds, the work of Capability Brown, 18th-century England's most gifted landscape gardener, are arguably the best example of the "cunningly natural" park in the country. Brown declared that his object at Blenheim was to "make the Thames look like a small stream compared with the winding Danube." At points he almost succeeds—the scale of these grounds must be seen to be believed. At dusk, flocks of sheep are let loose to become living mowers for the magnificent lawns. Tucked away here is the Temple of Diana, where Winston Churchill proposed to his future wife, Clementine. Blenheim's formal gardens include notable water terraces and an Italian garden with a mermaid fountain, all built in the 1920s.

The Pleasure Gardens, reached by a train that stops outside the main entrance to the palace, contain some child-pleasers: a butterfly house, giant hedge maze, playground, and giant chess set. The herb and lavender garden is also delightful. The train runs every 30 minutes from 11 until 5.

Cost: Palace, park, and gardens: mid-Feb.-mid-May and mid-Sept.-mid-Dec. £12; June-mid-Sept. £14; park and gardens only £7 or £9, depending on season
Open: Palace mid-Feb.-mid-Dec., daily 10:30-4:45; park daily 9-4:45; special events, fairs, and concerts throughout year

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