Autumn Splendor at Blenheim

... And now to part two of our visit to Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Winston Churchill.  The gardens that we had time to visit were in the last throws of Autumn, perfect for my last real chance to capture the beauty that I wait to see each year.  The bright vibrant colours are nothing better to inspire my soul.  Once again dear readers, a hot Darjeeling tea, a Bourbon and warm, fluffy slippers on... here's outside...

Exquisite sculptures peer out from the Palace, almost lost by the enormity of the columns.  The sheer scale of this place is breathtaking.

But, let's just capture the incredible Autumn splendour that surrounded Blenheim on this day (sorry, it was one of those dull grey sky days which my camera doesn't like!).  The gardens are another masterpiece of Capability Brown who it is said, saved an area of woodland here where the trees date back to the 12th century and probably the oldest in Europe!   I have put a link here to the Capability Brown website that gives some beautiful shots of the masterpiece he created (his real name was Lancelot Brown but was nicknamed Capability after he would say to clients that their land had capability for improvement)

The trees around us were desperately holding on to their copper leaves and at their feet a beautiful rusty carpet, just a bit too soggy for the obligatory crunchy walk.

Their bony limbs now peering through and ready for their winter slumber.

Amongst us the sheep, grazing before turning in for the evening.

This is what I love about Autumn. The dark mistiness, mixed in with a palette of warm, cosy rusty colours.

The sun was setting so our time was limited in the gardens, but come with me and we'll look at the front of the Palace with the lights just starting to flicker like the streets of a Victorian town.

Maybe we should have walked on the other side of the building earlier to see the other elements, but instead we had walked down the driveway (the white tents are the Christmas Fair - VERY crowded!)

To the top and a view seen from the centre section of the Palace, the Column of Victory which was built in 1727 and has John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough in Roman costume in celebration of the victory of the Battle of Blenheim.

What impressed me about this monument was the script at its base (you can read it here if you haven't got a long book to read!).  It felt as though I was reading a legal document that was for all to see and to show that this land and the Palace were not going to be taking by anyone!  There were little corrections that looked like a stonemason had tippexed over them and tapped over a thin piece of stone stuck over the error.  I can quite understand that they didn't want to just say, "oh no, my mistake, get me another three tonnes of stone"... and start again!

They'd be banging their heads against the surrounding trees like this one!

And so, back to the house and time to go home.

Maybe if we hadn't stood in a queue for the Untold Story tour in the Palace we would have had more time to visit the remaining areas of the garden.  But, it wasn't to be.

At least I got to see a small portion of another Capability Brown masterpiece and the last remaining warm and rustic colours of Autumn.

Ok, so my own personal opinion is that I wouldn't visit the inside of the Palace again, but instead I would like to explore the gardens in more depth during late autumn on another year and visit Churchill's grave.  

Have a great weekend everyone, I hope you didn't get crushed or mashed during the Black Friday sales!

At Home with Winston Churchill

Last year we had the fortune to visit Chatsworth House at Christmas.  This was an absolute delight to see the decorations around the house with the theme of Wind in the Willows (my posts are here and here).  This year, Blenheim Palace was going to be our start to the lead up to Christmas.  The birthplace of Winston Churchill and the wealthy Dukes of Marlborough (the only dukedom that allows for female inheritance due to an Act of Parliament back in 1703 as there were no male heirs to the title).

This visit will be in two parts (like my Chatsworth posts), focussing on the inside today and then another post taking you outside at the weekend.  So, are you sitting comfortably?  Is the fire lit, Earl Grey tea to hand and a custard cream?  Here we go...  Let's enter the hall with some modern art looping above us.

In the rooms that were on display, modern art took pride of place with various forms of textiles.  The link is here if you want to view some of Michelangelo Pistoletto's work.  I do love textiles, but unlike the artwork at Chatsworth House last year, this did not carry on the Christmas theme.

Yes, that's enough of the art, let's look at some decorations!

Staying for lunch anyone?

One of the rules in my house for when decorating a tree is NOT to have the lights outside of the decorations!  I had to stop myself from sorting this one out!!

There was a beautiful library to marvel at, however the modern art took over almost completely with mirrors and people cut outs which really spoilt the effect.  Looking up as I do, I was able to focus away from the hall of mirrors.

Looking down over the staged dining table in the hall showed just how enormous this Palace is.

... and then looking up!  SCAFFOLDING!  I do love scaffolding, and this was amazing with the Christmas decorations to prettify the steel poles.

But let's now look at the man himself.  Sir Winston Churchill.

The Greatest Briton who needs no words really as his life is well recorded, however you can read about his Orders, Decorations and Medals here.

In the Churchill Exhibition you can see his Dispatch Box which he used in 1919.  To think that he held that handle and the documents that were held inside! 

And, this is a little macabre, Churchill's curls from when he was five years old!

A few more pictures to finish off?... One of the many amazing ceilings of this Palace...

An exquisite cradle which was meant to be a replica of one that Napolean Bonapart commissioned for his heir, was ordered by the 9th Duke of Marlborough's wife, Consuelo Vandabilt.  

Now, for me, the feet of the cradle reminded me of the 'dolphin' lamps at the side of the Thames ...

As myself and Mumsy do, we like to compare the houses that we have previously seen.  Still nothing has come close to the sheer scale of Burghley House in Stamford and the natural welcome of the house, but Blenheim certainly has the austerity and brazenness of wealth thrown at every corner.  Everything was on a magnificent scale, but a little cold if I'm honest.  Chatsworth felt warm with its beautiful decorations and personal touches.  Highclere felt like a large family home and well loved.  Burghley House again felt like a well loved building oozing history.  Blenheim was here to sell.  I heard one guide say that the house has to open each year otherwise it goes back to the Crown.  I think this sentence explained a lot to me.

There was a tour of upstairs, but to be honest, my camera didn't even whisper to come out.  The Untold Story tour took you through time controlled doors and into small exhibition rooms where you could only enter the next room when the time had elapsed.  The creepy mannequins telling the story of the house in small cramped surroundings and timed conditions were not something I would want to experience again.  I'm not claustrophobic but I felt thoroughly trapped and uncomfortable! 

So, happily it was time to go outside!  See you at the weekend!!

Springtime in Oxford

Well summer came and paid us a visit last weekend.  Soaring temperatures and blue skies were welcomed so gratefully especially with another little trip planned.  So without further ado, here we go again, boil up the kettle and grab yourself a cup of rosy lee and a cupcake and let me take you around Oxford, one of our University Cities.

We started in Balliol College, one of the constituent colleges of Oxford and established in 1263.  The perfect gardens, wisteria climbing the stonework and the carefully placed rusty gate.  Music to my eyes!

What is it with me and windows?  Especially stone ones!  The chandelier through the window took my eye and the more I looked the more I loved.

And aren't these fun...

Of course, we all know someone who does this...

Wisteria and stone in the sunshine, such a beautiful combination.  The oak door welcoming scholars inside.  What a wonderful environment and can you imagine the book lined rooms that lay beyond this?  Yes, my longing for that particular room made another appearance in my mind!

Being a University City, every nook and cranny had students either studying, socialising or working.  This student was capturing the building on her canvas just as I like to with my camera.

It was also degree day (well, it certainly was with the degrees of heat!!), and gowns and mortarboards were seen everywhere.

Because of the celebrations, there was a lot of this going on (a tad disappointing!)...

... and lots of party preparation...

We were a little disappointed that we couldn't get into places, but we could still see the amazing architecture so my finger was poised over the shutter button to keep on capturing the day.

Hertford Bridge that joins two areas of the Hertford College but also known as The Bridge of Sighs...

I just love little streets such as this one.  I lose myself in space and time when I see such quaintness.

Colourful houses lined some of the streets, each pastel shade complementing its neighbour.

Eclectic mixes of different eras of architecture.

Hidden windows behind thick stone walls.

Stone walls providing the steady protection for hundreds of bicycles.

We made our way to the Bodleian Library which opened in 1602 and has been a library legal deposit for 400 years and has over 12 million documents.

We would have loved to have gone in but all tours were sold out and at the time of us visiting it was, you guessed it, closed to visitors!  Grrrrr!!!

Remember how proud I was when walking around London a few weeks ago?  Well, maybe I was a little too confident when walking around Oxford and by this time I was feeling it.  For those who have been reading my ramblings, especially since last December, they will already know that my feet have been on one hell of a health journey after an operation on both.  I have been walking very nicely especially five miles in London recently, but Oxford... apparently 11367 steps according to my phone and now my face couldn't hide the pain anymore.  So a slow walk back was in order with frequent stops along the way.

Pretty benches to take the WEIGHT off my feet.

Pretty flowers to take my MIND off my feet!

Of course, we would have loved to have gone punting but that will have to wait for another day.

As you can see, the weather was changing and the sky was getting darker.  It wasn't long before the rain set in, so the slow walk back to the transport taking us home was very welcome indeed.

Back on the coach, my shoes eventually came off with some prompting and pain killers were taken.  I'm glad to say that the following day, all was well, but I now know my limits!!

Have a wonderful weekend and week ahead everyone.