Looking for somewhere to tick off your UK Bucket List?
Blenheim Palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. Built in the early 1700s, it is the home of the Duke of Marlborough and is notable as being the birthplace of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
I had the opportunity to visit Blenheim Palace in 2017 during a stay with my sister who lives in England and it is one of the most stunning places I have ever been to. I visited on a day that was quite cold and overcast, and it made absolutely no difference to just how magnificent the Blenheim Palace estate was.
With incredible baroque architecture, gorgeous gilded state rooms, walled gardens, fountains and 2,000 acres of land to explore within the estate, Blenheim Palace is a wonderful day out if you like to travel alone or to take all the family.
Here are things to see and do at Blenheim Palace:
Explore the Palace State Rooms
Blenheim contains an incredible 187 rooms. Not all of these are open to the public, but there are plenty of elegant, gilded state rooms to wander through, all filled with opulent furniture, enormous tapestries and stunning portraits. It was easy to spend hours in these – I was amazed by the detail and craftsmanship that had been put into each room. You can find out more about each room with an audio guide, but there are also plenty of knowledgable employees who are happy to explain more about the artefacts and history of each room.
The Walled Garden
The Walled Garden is just a short journey on the miniature train ride (available during the main season) from the Palace, with a butterfly house, a maze, a cafe and a play area that is the perfect place to sit down and relax while the children and grandchildren have fun!
The Formal Gardens
The Formal Gardens surround Blenheim Palace and the Churchill Memorial Garden, Water Terraces, the Duke’s Private Italian Garden (not available to the public), Rose Garden and the Secret Garden with plenty of paths to follow and beautiful foliage. The Formal Gardens should take about an hour (it is a 1.5-mile walk) and is suitable for wheelchair and buggy users. If you want to find out more about the gardens, a 2.2-mile audio tour walk is available that also takes about 1 hour. Whatever the weather, this was one of my favourite parts of the estate.
The Churchill Exhibition
This wasn’t available when I visited Blenheim Palace, but there is a new permanent exhibition dedicated to the life of Winston Churchill. Located in an area that was once used by Churchill as an artist’s studio and overlooking the Water Terraces, the exhibition contains photographs, letters and a mixture of new technology combines with historic artefacts.
Lights, Camera, Action! Trail
Blenheim Palace and gardens been used as a location for many exciting movies and and TV programmes, including The Royals, Entrapment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 007 Spectre, Cinderella, Half a Sixpence and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. The Lights, Camera, Action! Trail allows you to discover many of the locations used in these films and TV shows.
The Harry Potter Tree
Are you a Harry Potter fan? A beautiful 300 year old Cedar of Lebanon tree that was used in the ‘Order of the Phoenix’ Harry Potter film sits by the lake on the Blenheim Palace estate – the only Harry Potter tree still available to see in person.
Events
There are lots of different events that go on at Blenheim throughout the year, from music concerts and a food festival to flower shows, fun runs and pageants. To find out more visit the Blenheim Palace website here.
Looking for a great day out for all the family? Blenheim Palace is a wonderful place to visit, with lots of things to see and do for everyone.
Current ticket prices vary depending on if you want an annual pass, wish to visit the Palace, Park and Gardens or just the Park and Gardens. To find out ticket prices, visit their website here.