We also did Blenheim Palace as a day trip from London in April 2003, and it easily deserves a full day even if you don't count the travel time from London (train to Oxford, bus to Woodstock.) However the bus into Woodstock does NOT drop you off "at the Palace gates" as a previous poster indicated, but rather in the center of town about half a mile from the gates, then with the walk from the gates to the house it's easily a mile in all - but if my 75 year old Mom could do it, so could most people. The private apartment tour does cost extra and I really regret not taking it. If you're lucky enough to visit on a day when the weather is nice (as we were), the grounds and gardens could easily fascinate one for the entire day. The cafeteria at the Palace opens up onto the Italian fountain gardens which were absolutely beautful. There's also a little tram that for £1 drives you around the grounds on a tour; the guide pointed out at Duke of Marlborough's sheep which were all pregnant with twins. Since this was the last part of our visit, the tram driver was kind enough to, at our request, drop of my Mom and I at the gate rather than back at the Palace so we saved a bit of the walk back to the bus stop. Our only quibble with the entire experience was that there were no benches in the village of Woodstock where my afore-mentioned 75 year old mother could sit down while waiting for the return bus.

For anyone who may have seen the film "Hamlet" with Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Kate Winslet, and Julie Christie, this is where it was filmed. The Duke of Marlborough was an extra in the film!

BC

Must have been a different bus. The one we were on dropped us off right outside the gates. We had to walk down the street a bit (but not far) to catch the bus back to Oxford.

Buses and Blenheim.

All 20 and 20A buses from Oxford's railway station and its Gloucester Green bus station stop at Blenheim Palace gates. So, on Sundays, do X50s. From that stop it's at most 250-300 yards to the palace itself. There is an Oxford-bound bus stop on the other side of the road, almost directly opposite the alighting stop. It has (and has had as long as I can remember) two benches - big enough, between them, for at least eight normal people to sit down.

All Oxford-Woodstock buses also stop 500 yards further on in central Woodstock. Most passengers get off here (buses are mostly used by Woodstock residents working or shopping in Oxford). The nearest palace grounds entrance to this stop is nothing like half a mile away, but does involve a further 500-600 yard walk to the palace. There are no benches at this stop, or at the corresponding Oxford-bound stop on the other side of the road.

Why Daisy got off at the wrong stop isn't clear. Just make sure you get only the 20 or 20A and ask the driver to stop at the palace gates. Don't assume he'll stop there just because you have a foreign accent: many visitors are actually more interested in Woodstock than in the Churchill family's florid monstrosity.

Perhaps flanneruk could visit Oxford & Woodstock and educate the bus drivers as to where they stop & don't stop. Daisy DID ask him about stopping at the BP gates on the #20 bus (boarded at the Oxford train station), and Daisy did NOT "get off at the wrong stop". In April 2003 there was one bus stop in Woodstock and it was on the High Street. Not an impossible walk to the BP gates and front door, and the village of Woodstock and the BP grounds are certainly attractive enough to make the journey enjoyable.

I walked to the relevant bus stop this morning. And, pedant that I am, measured out the distances on the pedometer Mrs F put into my Christmas stocking during the Three Minutes' Silence.

Daisy - there REALLY are two bus stops. You would well to believe flanneruk - he is from there.

One bus stop is in the village but the other one (the one flanner recommends) is back towards Oxford on A44 (Oxford/Woodstock Rd). Those benches he speaks of have been there at least since the mid 70's (and I suspect much longer than that) when I was living in Oxfordshire. And while it may seem like a mile from the village stop to the Palace - it isn't. Over the years I have walked several times from near the Bear hotel in the village center and I'd guesstimate it is barely 1/3 of a mile maybe a tiny bit more.

To clarify, "back towards Oxford" is still IN Woodstock, but just SE from the village center on the main road to Oxford.

Flanner, how envious I am that you live in/near Woodstock. It's such a charming village! After spending most of the day at Blenheim, we walked around Woodstock, taking photographs and had dinner at the Vickers Hotel.

I still use those photos as my computer wallpaper. :)