This was my favorite day of our entire trip.
We got up and walked down the High Street in Chipping Campden to have some breakfast. And it was just so sweet. We loved hearing the locals all come in, talk to each other by name, and check in on the older residents. It felt just like how community should be.
Then we hopped in our car and drove to Blenheim Palace. The most breathtaking home and gardens.
Blenheim Palace
There is so much to say about this beautiful place, I don’t even know where to start. The only downside is they are doing some massive restoration work on the front entrance to the palace, and scaffolding is not as pretty to look at, BUT we were the very last weekend that the scaffolding was still up for the public to go up so that was a unique experience.
First, the history, because I love that part and it gives every place we visit so much more depth when you know it.
Blenheim Palace was built to celebrate a huge English victory over France at the Battle of Blenheim. It was built for John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough. His military successes allowed him to climb the ranks in British society. He married a woman named Sarah, who was a childhood friend of Queen Anne. Their marriage was founded on love, which was unusual for the time. By the time the Battle of Blenheim happened, they were said to be the most influential couple in the country. It has been the family home for the Marlborough family ever since.
Queen Anne was so happy with John’s victory at the Battle of Blenheim that she rewarded him with the money and the land to build Blenheim Palace. While John was away at war, Sarah, the Duchess of Marlborough, oversaw the construction of Blenheim Palace. And she was a powerhouse. She was also the Keeper of the Privy Purse, which meant that she controlled the Queen’s budget – which was a rarity for a woman at the time.
John chose the architect Sir John Vanbrugh to create the Palace, but Sarah did not like him. She felt he was too extravagant and ignored her instructions. Sarah wanted Sir Christopher Wren to design their home (who was the architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral and one of the building’s we saw yesterday in Oxford). Sarah and Vanbrugh disagreed so much that he was ultimately barred from visiting.
Blenheim Palace was Sir John Vanbrugh’s masterpiece though. He defined the opulent and decorative English Baroque style. He chose only the best and most expensive materials and the most sought-after craftsmen. The Palace is extravagant but beautiful. Sadly, John was never able to see the Palace completed, although he lived in the completed sections during the last years of his life. He died in 1722. Sarah was distraught and commissioned several projects on the ground to his memory. Building was finally finished in 1733. Sarah lived 22 years after the death of her husband and refused all offers of marriage. When she passed, they moved John from his burial place in Westminster Abbey and the two were buried side by side in the crypt beneath the chapel on the grounds.
When we first got there, we visited the stables while we waited for the palace to open. Every detail was just perfect.
Then we went inside to tour the palace. They are doing an exhibition right now about the architect, Sir John Vanbrugh, so we learned a lot about him. But then we also were able to visit the family’s private rooms (which we couldn’t take pictures of) and then the palace state rooms. I loved it all. I loved the buttery yellow rooms and all the little details. Mark and I also felt like you can tell there is a difference between aristocracy and nobility. It was a little strange to see a TV in one of the corners but at the same time, of course there would be! They aren’t frozen in time, and a real family still lives here. Even if it is hard to imagine. I actually asked one of the guides in the middle of the tour how often the family was there (expecting the answer to be rare) and he told me the Duke was there right now. He hangs out in the private areas and once everyone leaves around 5, he comes out into the regular rooms. He said the Marlborough family has always had this as their permanent residence. I was so surprised!
I kept thinking of that scene in Downtown Abbey when the family opens their home up to the public for a day and they are so surprised with how interested people are with their way of life.
There is so much to see here, and we were so happy that we didn’t have any timetable on this day. We looked at some of the kitchens (of course, some have been modernized and are still being used so we didn’t go into those parts). The chapel on the grounds is stunning.
Then they have an amazing Winston Churchill exhibit. I became so fascinated with him on this trip and have already hunted down a biography to read more about his life. He was born at Blenheim, but it was by accident. His mother was pregnant with him, her first child, when they were invited to Blenheim for a long weekend of riding, shooting, and a grand party in the Palace Library. Then Winston came early and arrived at Blenheim.
A little history on Winston’s connection to this family. His father, Randolph, was the younger brother to the 8th Duke of Marlborough. Randolph went on to become a politician, but he was a cold and distant father to Winston and died when Winston was only 20. Winston’s mother was named Jennie and was an American from a wealthy New York business family. She showed love to Winston and used her connection and influence to help Winston with his political career but was also distant. Winston was in line to inherit the title and the palace until his early 20s, when his uncle finally had a son.
It was so interesting to learn more about Winston’s life. We laughed reading his school report card. It broke our hearts to hear of his distant parents, who seemed more focused on being a glamorous high society couple, then being parents to Winston, who bounced around between different homes in Ireland, London, and Blenheim. He was close with his nanny, Mrs. Everest, and had a strong bond with his grandparents, the 7th Duke and Duchess of Marlborough. He was later sent to boarding school but spent his holidays at Blenheim Palace.
There is so much more to his life. He was political (as we know), but he was also a writer and a painter. I loved his relationship with Clementine, his wife. And we learned even more about Winston’s life later in London. But I found him to be a fascinating and intriguing character from history.
After the Churchill Exhibit we went up the scaffolding to get an up close and personal look at the front of the palace that is being restored. It was a unique experience.
Next up, we grabbed some lunch at the café on the grounds. It was delicious and nice to get something warm on a chilly day. Also, I have always been a juice girl (I will always take juice over soda), and English juice is REAL juice and so much better than anything we have here. I pretty much had juice for every meal of the day. And I also did have to look up what a “jacket potato” is…it’s a baked potato. And very good!
In the afternoon, we explored the grounds and they may have been my favorite part. The gardens are incredible. Mark loved all the pheasants, and we took loads of pictures for the kids. But everything about the grounds is beautiful. It is such a great mix of perfectly manicured but also a natural look about them as well. We kept thinking how much Sarah would love the flowers and how much Ben would enjoy the climbing trees. We then made it our mission to try and find the Duke, convince him we weren’t crazy people, but that we would love to move here with our family and become gardeners. Sadly, we never got the chance 😉
Winston proposed to Clementine in the little temple in the gardens and it is straight out of a romance book. They were walking through the gardens when it started to rain, and they sought cover in the temple and that is when he proposed. So darling.
We walked across the bridge (which is perfectly lovely) and down to the “Harry Potter Tree” as it is known. I do think it is a little funny how much the tree is talked about considering you only see if for about 1 ½ seconds in the film, but we went to see it, so I guess we are part of the madness! This tree was planted in the 1770s and is the setting for the scene showing Professor Snape’s worst memory in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
The grounds were amazing. Everything about this place is just perfection.
Stow-on-the-Wold
We eventually hopped back into our car and made our way to Stow-on-the-Wold. We were debating about staying here or Chipping Campden when we were making our plans, and I must admit, I am glad we went with Chipping Campden. Maybe it was because it was pouring rain, but we just didn’t find it as charming as Chipping Campden. We felt like it was a bit cramped and confusing.
BUT we did go exploring a little bit. The highlight of Stow-on-the-Wold was St. Edwards Church. It is so sweet inside and I loved the cross-stitched pillows for prayer. I love all the memorials for those that have been lost in the various wars. And we even found the famous wooden door that fans are convinced was the inspiration for the Doors of Durin, leading into Moria from J.R.R. Tolkien.
Also, I am now just noticing that we sound like we are super fans of a whole lot of pop culture. Maybe we are? I never think of myself that way, but here we are!
We were initially going to eat dinner in Stow-on-the-Wold but nothing was open yet (it was 5:30!). Again, that was a big culture difference for us, we are early birds! So, we made our way back to Chipping Campden and it sealed itself as our favorite. We ate dinner at the Eight Bells Inn, and it was delicious. Mark and I both had the “Special” which was beef stroganoff with rice, marinated onion, and parsley cream. We both felt like it was more mushroom than beef, but we still liked it. And then we had their “Special” dessert which was amazing – “Mirabel Plum Mousse”. The description said it was white chocolate and biscuit base, topped with plum mousse and mixed berry jelly, almond crumb, peanut praline and vanilla ice cream. So yummy!
We walked back to our little room, and we were so grateful for our time in the Cotswolds. I would most definitely come back.
