Blenheim Palace

In the early 1700’s, France and the Holy Roman Empire disagreed over who would succeed Charles II to the Spanish throne. England did not have a suitable candidate of its own, but it still felt obliged to get involved in The War of Spanish Succession. I suppose if you can’t be king, you may as well play kingmaker. England fought for the Habsburg candidate — his name isn’t relevant, because he never does become king. A few years into the war, alliance forces under the command of the Duke of Marlborough defeated the French at Blenheim. It was not a conclusive victory — the war itself would drag on another 10 years, and in the end, the French candidate would be secure as King Philip V of Spain — but it was a good enough job Marlborough had done that day that Queen Anne awarded him crown lands at Woodstock and enough money to build a magnificent palace on it. Thus was born Blenheim Palace, the only nonroyal palace in the realm.

The Duke of Marlborough still lives at Blenheim, so Blenheim Palace is the nicest residence I have ever been to. It is truly magnificent and should be included on your itinerary. The grounds themselves, carved out, crafted, and landscaped by Capability Brown are considered to have some of the finest views in all of Europe. What used to be just a little stream running through the grounds was dammed up and used to produce magnificent ponds and islands.

And I think everybody should reward themselves with a 134-ft high column every time you do a good job at work. Marlborough’s “Column of Victory”:

The exterior of the palace is nice. It is made of that sandstone that so much around these parts (including the village of Broadway) is made of, which gives it an orange hue. Having recently power washed my driveway at home, however, I really think the current duke would be thrilled to get a power washer. I’m sure he’s never done a bit of work in his life, but I think the thrill he would get by seeing some of his walls or statues get clean would entice him to power wash the entire exterior of the palace. Himself.

Statues lining the roof of Blenheim:

While the exterior has its statues and columns and details that make it seem beautiful and expensive, the interior is really something else. Ancient and modern statues and busts of Roman emperors and gods, paintings of the family, a whole series of room-sized tapestries illustrating the victory at Blenheim, a dining room table and solid silver centerpiece that weighs over 100 pounds and which Consuelo Vanderbilt liked to call her cache mari because it conveniently hid her detested husband (the 9th Duke of Marlborough) from view across the table. Their library has a larger than life statue of Queen Anne at one end and a set of organ pipes at the other that would make any church jealous. Oh, and their private little chapel? Let me just say they must be a very religious family, for they spared no expense on that.

Larger than life Queen Anne statue in the library:

A view down the library to the organ at the other end:

Just a little organ:

The family chapel, in case you didn’t make it up in time for church:

Blenheim Palace is a full day’s outing for the family. The kids will grow bored with the guided tour of the inside, but we still did it, since the parents wanted to learn more. There was an exhibition on Winston Churchill, who was born in the palace, which thoroughly bored the kids, but we told them if they were good, we would spend some time in the “Pleasure Garden” at the end of our stay. If you had multiple days, you could spend one of them roaming around the vast estate, but you’ll probably be more short of time than money, so there is a golf cart tour around estate for £2.50 per person. I’m on the fence as to whether it was worth it; it did save us time and allow us to take in more of the beautiful estate, but the walk also would have been nice.

At the end, when your kids have let you walk around the palace, take them to the “Pleasure Gardens” to run around. You can walk it, or there is a train that can take you there every half hour for 50p per person. We walked there and took the train back. The walk is nothing special, so if you time it right, use the train for 50p. At the “Pleasure Garden,” there is a really good hedge maze which the kids will run in and find their way through much faster than you. There is a bar, so adults can walk the maze with a glass of chardonnay in their hands. There are big chess and checkers boards, and playground equipment, along with a pretty decent playground set behind the “Pleasure Gardens.” While we were there, Wimbledon was going on, so the Palace had set up a big screen outside so guests could keep up with the tournament.

All in all, I recommend Blenheim Palace for traveling families. It may not be the most kid-friendly destination, but the kids will appreciate some of it, and they will enjoy the “Pleasure Gardens.”