Is Blenheim palace worth visiting?
 

We are flying into Heathrow and renting a car for a few days for touring the Cotswolds/Bath areas.

Our first stop is to be Blenheim Palace before continuing on to Chipping Campden.

There seems to be a lot of Fodorites that are not fond of this estate.

Should we stop or just drive on to the Cotswolds?

We loved it and the gardens, and also found it interesting.

To be honest - only one Fodorite is really, truly "anti-Blenheim". And he is practically a next door neighbor :)

A few folks are put off a bit - but I think the VAST majority are blown away by the grandeur and beauty of the place. Plus the history, grounds, gardens - most people really do like it.

IMO it would be a real shame to miss Blenheim - especially since you will drive right by it enroute to Chipping Campden . . . . .

We were awed by Blenheim Palace. When you enter the grounds the view of the building is breathtaking. We likened it to visiting one of the Loire Valley chateaux. If you are in the area you should really try to visit it.

It's definitely worth a stop. Here are a few of my photos.

http://travelswithdiane.homestead.com/Cotswolds2.html

or if you would like to start with our renting a car at Heathrow:
http://travelswithdiane.homestead.com/Cotswolds.html

Are "yes/no" answers to questions that go "is x worth visiting?" worth listening to?

I'm not the only person on this board who loathes Blenheim (see http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35143513) Even Mr and Mrs Marlborough prefer living in a properly-designed, humanly-proportioned, house 5 miles away to the hideous pile they make their money from.

But I might be the only person who explains why. Blenheim Palace is a ludicrously over-wrought lump of Baroque. Continental Europe's full of that stuff: they did it far better in Rome and Vienna - and if you want to see a French chateau, there's millions of them along the Loire. The landscaping's OK, as 18th century destructions of the English countryside go - but practically every municipal park in the English speaking world looks little different. And the whole place is bloody pricey.

Now some people like over-wrought Baroque, and if you're one of them, Blenheim might be worth spending time in. But there's no shortage of other things to see in the area and if you're American and time's short - well those millionaires' cottages in Newport, Rhode Island are just as tacky and generally cheaper to visit. The Blenheim guides are better-informed and less deferential to tasteless owners than the automata who show you round the Newport horrors, though.

You can see the gardens for free, though Mr & Mrs M try to pretend you can't. The palace grounds are criss-crossed by public rights of way: park your car close to the Black Prince pub on the A44 out of Woodstock. Between the Black Prince and the Rose and Crown, on the left as you're headed west, follow the footpath sign into the grounds.

>>>To be honest - only one Fodorite is really, truly "anti-Blenheim". And he is practically a next door neighbor<<<

Obviously, there are more than one:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35143513

Thank you, Flanner, for your tip!

We loved it. Visted many years ago when we lived in England. The house itself is amazing with some great Churchill memorabilia and the gardens were lovely.

i totally agree with flanner's points about the newport mansions being infinitely more tasteful than blenheim palace. they are also more interesting to visit for common people. no comparison.

We enjoyed our day there, thought the grounds and the overall views of the outside of the mansion were amazing. The lower floor was good but I would skip the upper floor exhibition, especially if you are short of time.

You can pay less and just visit the grounds, in which case you will still see the outside of the buildings. This would definitely be worth it, in my view.

Kay

The short, apparently (but not truly) discourteous, and only correct answer to the OP's question is: it is, if you like that sort of thing.

The only person who can make the judgement is the OP.

Flanner, DO figure it out...we foolish little colonials go to places like Blenheim because it IS such a "lump" of baroque....and besides, we know you are never going to open up that little "terrace" place you've got so what other choices do we have?????

I always love how the fact that being American always seems to get thrown in our faces too.

How is "being American" getting thrown in your face?

For most Europeans, going to Blenheim is a complete waste of time, because there's no shortage of loads of good Baroque on everyone's doorstep. But many Europeans have lots of time to waste, and don't worry much about the possibility of a misspent afternoon in Oxfordshire.

That's not the case for most Americans. As Dukey, with characteristic charmlessness, puts it, Baroque - whether clunky or not- is more of a rarity. And with the three millisenconds' average annual holiday you allow yourselves, making the most of every one of those milliseconds matters.

For some, the place is wonderful. For others, it's the load of tasteless junk Voltaire so astutely poured scorn on. If it's your kind of thing, it's the kind of thing you'll like. But it's far more important for many Americans to be able to predict whether they'll like it.

Well, I should not comment further, but...I just feel that there was no need to mention nationality about this topic.

Btw, I found it interesting that you visited Newport.

Thanks, flanneruk, for explaining logically about Blenheim. I enjoyed my afternoon there and am glad I went, but it is not one of the sights in England to which I would put on my list of "want to go back".

Frankly I enjoyed wandering around Woodstock much more. I spent the night in a B&B with gracious and helpful hosts.

I found the town lovely, and charming. Lots of great photo ops (I am one of those awful tourists with a camera, though I do try to be polite about it.) I remember having a wonderful conversation about Yanks with one of the shopkeepers. He remembered them fondly from WW II days. My Dad was stationed at one point not far away and I hope he was one of them.

I met lots of other friendly people during my stay there and enjoyed some great conversations. Had a delicious shepherds pie at the pub. Found a perfect birthday present for a friend. Fortunately I had a car so I could just leave it in the "boot" for the rest of the trip.

Oh, it's time to go back to the UK again!

traveller1969: I meant only one is <b>REALLY TRULY</b> anti-Blenheim. There have been lots of others put off a bit, but for most of them it isn't quite so deep seated. It's just a &quot;liked it/not so much&quot; sort of thing. And there are more who really enjoy visiting the Palace. Each time I've been there (MANY times since I lived in the area for 5 years and took everyone who ever visited me around to Blenheim, and maybe 4 or 5 times since moving back to the States) the number of British visitors far out numbered the number of colonials.

In any case - the thread you and flanner linked is LOTRHP's about architecture in Oxford - nothing to do w/ Blenheim/Woodstock.

(BTW - if one has the recommended Great British Heritage Pass, one doesn't even have to pay to tour the place . . . . )

I like a variety of European architectural styles (medieval architecture is probably my favorite). I see nothing wrong with Baroque (better Baroque than some souless boring example of Stalinesque modern architecture). So yes I enjoyed Blenheim and I think it worth a stop. However in the end it all depends on your tastes. Look up some pix and see if it appeals.

I loved Blenheim, and having toured the Breakers in Newport a few weeks ago, I thought Blenheim was much more worthwhile in comparison. While the architecture and decoration might not be to everyone's taste, it does have some history behind it as well.

As I mentioned in my trip report, we did Blenheim and Oxford as a daytrip from London last June and found that to be a great London daytrip

JanisJ, of course we will visit Blenheim Palace when we will be in the area next week. At least, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. And after the visit, we will have our own judgement. Certainly, it will remain a matter of personal taste - baroque style is always on the verge to kitsch. (But at least, it is original baroque and not fake baroque like in Newport.)

And we will use the secret access to the park which was described by Flanner. This type of advice makes this forum priceless.