We have been blessed with the weather so far, so on our second day in Oxford we thought it would be fun to hire a couple of bikes and ride the approx 14kms out to Blenheim Palace. It was a lovely way to get there and our feet were thankful for the rest after endless walking during our stay in London. I can’t say the same for our bums though…
Upon arrival at the palace we were told that it was closed for the filming of Ridley Scott’s upcoming film, Napoleon, but that the grounds and gardens were still open to explore which we were more than happy with. Perhaps apart from Versailles, we hadn’t seen a palace with such expansive, manicured grounds. We strolled our way through the seemingly endless green, into the lush rose garden, down to the cascades, across to the apple orchard and through the meticulous maze.
We enjoyed some pastries and Pimms at the onsite cafe before exploring the other side of the park.
Once we had ridden back to Oxford on our heavy 3 speed bikes into a headwind, it was time to find a lager. We ended up at the pink pub at the end of the street we were staying called called the Kings Arms which we returned to later in the evening for dinner. We sat alongside a chatty law academic who was very glad to have someone to talk to after being cooped up for the past week revising and editing his PHD for submission.
To end the evening, Dave went out to find us a bottle of red to enjoy but unfortunately there was no bottle opener to be found. After a few failed attempts at opening it with with some wire and a screw we accepted defeat and hit the hay.