Oxford & Blenheim Palace

“Dreamy spires & palatial opulence”

Tour Highlights: Oxford University, Collegiate Oxford and scholastic buildings, Blenheim Palace, the state apartments, Churchill museum, formal gardens, extensive parkland, Woodstock village and the charming Cotswolds countryside.

A 90 minute drive from London our day commences in the heart of the historical yet compact city of Oxford. The home of English education for over 800 years. We tour the most beautiful of the 38 colleges that make up the University Campus. We visit sacred gardens, ancient dining halls and chapels and witness the locations of where some of the Worlds' luminaries spent their most formative years.

We then make the short journey to the charming Cotswold settlement of Woodstock for lunch, saving the magnificence of Blenheim Palace for later.

Blenheim is perhaps our most magnificent stately home. The size and scale of the Palace is truly remarkable. Designated by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site, the Palace carries a unique aura of history and achievement.

Blenheim was the gift of Queen Anne and a grateful nation to the 1st Duke of Marlborough for his great victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Everywhere the Palace's design reflects the triumphal mood from the military symbolism, the war trophies on the colonnades to the scale of the heroic Grand Bridge. England's greatest landscape gardener, Lancelot "Capability" Brown designed the great lake and hanging beech woods beyond, all to look so effortlessly natural. We have time to explore all.

Blenheim was also the birthplace to the greatest ever Briton, Sir Winston Churchill. Sir Winston throughout his life was a regular visitor and said always he made the two best decisions of his life here, "to be born and to propose to his darling wife" The Churchill Museum is outstanding.

We meander through the beautiful Chiltern countryside on our return journey home. This tour can also be enjoyed in conjunction with the Cotswolds or Stratford–upon–Avon Tours.

As with all our tours, if our most popular tour schedules do not suit your specific requirements, please allow us to create a customised itinerary especially for you. We always remember the day is yours to cherish.