Wellies?  Everywhere.  Barbours?  Of every (muted) hue.  Adorable puppies?  Rampant.  As I gazed around it could all only mean one thing – I had ventured out of London into the countryside!

Blenheim Palace is a huge estate near Oxford that plays host to international-level horse trials every year.  For £22 you can roam much of the grounds watching the finest horsey specimens be put through their paces by their talented riders.  We chose to take in the cross-country, and watched in awe as huge hedges, drops and obstacles of every kind were navigated… usually with apparent ease.

If you got bored of the horses, there was agility of a smaller nature too!

I enjoyed the familiarity of being back amongst horses, although the dress style and accents were somewhat different to a New Zealand event!  The setting couldn’t be beaten either, with rolling hills, wide rivers, and of course the Palace in the background.  We wandered over to take a look around one of England’s largest “country houses”.

Eight Kiwi girls walk into a Palace…

Blenheim Palace was built in the early eighteenth century on land given to the first Duke of Marlborough by Queen Anne as a reward for his efforts in the War of the Spanish Succession.  It’s a huge complex, with hundreds of rooms, and several wings and exhibitions to tour.  Blenheim Palace has seen a lot of history within its walls over the years, but one of its most important contributions would have to be as the family home of Sir Winston Churchill – he was born there in 1874.

I imagine the window-cleaning bills are insane…

A fairly modest outlook

I loved these amazing autumn colours!

Entry to the Palace was one of the steeper tickets I’ve bought this year, at £22.50 for entry everywhere, but we subsequently learnt that most of the funds go directly to keeping the Palace, Park and Gardens in the beautiful order that they are.   Once inside, we forgot the hit on our wallets as we gazed around the opulent rooms, covered in family portraits, gilt and stunning colours.  I think my favourite room was the incredible Long Library, with a full-size organ at the end!

The incredible family Chapel

As far as stately country homes go, it doesn’t get too much better than Blenheim Palace.  If you can time your visit for the horse trials or one of the other amazing events they hold in the grounds, even better!  Click here for more information on visiting the Palace.

Where’s your favourite countryside spot?

After our morning of castle exploring and excellent pub lunching, Zoe and I journeyed on to Oxford to visit our cousin Kathy.  I’d never visited this historic university city and was excited to have a quick taster of its beautiful academic and religious buildings.  Kathy took us on a walking tour and I was blown away – it was even more stunning than I’d anticipated!

Trinity College

Salutation House

Oxford has been a seat of learning since the 12th century, making its university the oldest in the English-speaking world.  It is made up of many different colleges and departments, and they are scattered all around the city centre.  It’s one of the most prestigious universities (and one of the hardest in England to get into), and its beautiful buildings certainly make attendance look like the quintessential English university experience.

Sheldon Theatre

Hertford Bridge joins two parts of Hertford College near the centre of town, and appears to have been modelled after the Venetian Bridge of Sighs at the Doge’s Palace.  Apparently it’s a popular spot for wedding photographs!

The beautiful Bodleian Library is one of the oldest research libraries in Europe and is one of the six libraries that hold a copy of every book published in the United Kingdom.  It was established in the 16th century by Thomas Bodley and has grown exponentially since its inception.

The Tower of the Five Orders – the Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite architectural Orders

Zoe and Kathy in front of the Radcliffe Camera

The University Church of St Mary the Virgin

I loved these beautiful twisted pillars on the south porch of the Church

As our cousin Kathy told us, everyone bikes in Oxford – it’s flat, and there are a million one-way streets, making bicycles a really easy way to get around.  We saw piles of bikes chained to fences and loads of people taking advantage of the many bike lanes – if we’d been there for longer I would have liked to hire one to explore more of town.

The War Memorial Garden at Christ College

Next time I’d love to see inside Christ College – it’s home to the filming location of a number of Harry Potter scenes, as well as being a beautiful set of buildings.

Of course, knowing my affinity for a delicious afternoon tea, you won’t be surprised that we managed to squeeze one in during our short time.  Kathy took us to her favourite, the Grand Café, which just happens to be the site of the oldest coffee-house in England.  Given it was afternoon tea I couldn’t make myself stretch to coffee, but I did appreciate the delicious scones with my green tea!

Have you visited Oxford and its dreaming spires?  What would you recommend I see on my return?

I’m in Greece at the moment but please do check out Bonnie, Amy and Camila‘s blogs for the link-up and all the fabulous posts this week!