our visit to blenheim palace
Happy December :) I hope everyone is excited for the holidays coming up this weekend! With the dire situation it’s probably hard to feel the Christmas spirit but hope you’re all safe and taking care of yourselves.
My very good friend Aliizee from my undergrad days back in Tokyo came to visit me last month and we had a blast walking around Oxford and seeing its wonders. On one of the days we visited Blenheim Palace, well known as the birthplace of Winston Churchill, and spent the entire day there visiting the massive site. Here are a few of the many things that we particularly enjoyed!
1) Strolling around the gardens and the maze
The land outside the palace is what took us the most time to go around! There's a variety of gardens spread throughout the area, from rose gardens to the secret garden among others the dukes created during their time in the palace. We also saw a Japanese maple tree in one of the gardens which was a nice surprise. There's even a maze at the end of one of the gardens that’s definitely worth trying!
2) Roaming the library in the Palace
The library can’t be excluded in this list! The room’s interior decor was breath-taking, from the nicely decorated furniture to the ceilings with beautiful paintings. We were in awe when we entered the library with its extensive bookshelves covering the entire wall of the room. It had an accompanying piano in the hall with a Christmas tree lit up when we visited which added the beautiful Christmas touch!
3) Seeing the Harry Potter Tree
This tree is the model tree for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It’s unfortunately very old and is supported by ropes but it sits in the perfect location for a beautiful view of the palace across the lake! I think this was one of my favorite places of the entire day. We visited the tree towards the end and had a great gaze of the palace from afar :)
Blenheim Palace is a must see if you visit Oxford. It's about a 30 minute bus trip from Oxford city center and a well worth 1 day trip. For more details on Blenheim Palace check their website here. A single ticket can be transferred to an annual pass free of charge so I’ll be visiting again in Spring for sure!