Roadtrip Day 3: Wakefield (Leeds) to Woodstock (Oxfordshire) - Blenheim Palace

6th Oct, 2010

Well i'm still driving south...

ruins of the main castle (main hall)

Leaving York today and first stop was Boltsover Castle which is in Derbyshire. The castle is a medieval castle built in the 1610's by Sir Charles Cavendish. Its claim to fame is that King Charles I learnt to ride there and was later received as a visitor by William Cavendish the 1st Duke of Newcastle.

Small castle

I'm not quite up with british history but the civil war saw destruction of quite a bit of the castle. The main castle and stables are just shells now. The small castle is still intact and the artwork inside reflects the reputation of William Cavendish as a playboy poet. Again you can see the owners preoccupation with showy grandeur.

 Driving further south I passed through Nottinghamshire which is signposted all along the way as Robin Hood country. Luckily nobody robbed me... although i'm prob too poor to be robbed...

In the arvo I visited Blenheim Palace which is in Woodstock which is just north of Oxford in Oxfordshire.
Again a beautiful house and big tourist attraction. The house was built between 1705 and 1722 and was a gift to Sir John Churchill the 1st Duke of Marlborough from Queen Anne after his heroics in the British Army.
The latest claim to fame is that this is the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill who was a very famous British PM.

The grounds are magnificent and well kept. I did the inside tours and walked around a little outside but it was starting to get late in the arvo and they were closing soon.

Blenheim palace from the gardens at the back

The drama started after. I have been booking some of my accommodation only a night before when i decide how far or where i'm going to go for the day. Since I knew i was going to Blenheim Palace and it closes at 6pm, I decided to stay somewhere local rather than keep driving to Oxford (which was more expensive). So I booked a b&b on expedia... big mistake...
So i arrived and the lady had no idea of my arrival and they didnt have a room. So she had to ring a neighbouring b&b that luckily had a vacancy.
In the end it was all good. The problem is that expedia charge your credit card when you make the booking... so i'd already paid but had no accommodation. Spent the night on the phone and in the end i got a refund. Well after all the hassle i was really really tired but i ended up getting quite a good deal. The arrangement with the other place meant that i was charged a lot less for a room that usually rents for a lot more. The people were really nice and understanding of my situation.... and the food there was great!! Best steak i've had in the UK and rivals good places in Aust...