Saint Basil

We finished packing so that after breakfast we could just collect our luggage and check out. After my previous days breakfast experience, I opted for the safer option of the coconut toast with pineapple that I had enjoyed on the first day. Sadly, the safe option didn’t live up to expectation, the toast and the pineapple were cold and Mr C’s cooked breakfast was also distinctly sub-standard.

After checking out from the hotel we found that a car was parked in a non-parking space in such a way that Mr C couldn’t get out of his parking space. The lady in the passenger seat explained that her husband had nipped to the shop. I took some photos of the hotel but by the time I had finished, her husband had still not returned. She got out of the car, put a lead on her dog and was about to go in search of her husband when he appeared from around the corner with takeaway breakfast items. Soon after, they were on their way and so were we.

Our destination of the day was Althorp, the ancestral home of the Spencer family. We visited the house first. It being several years since our previous visit, I had forgotten a lot about the house and was reacquainted with the picture gallery and the amazing staircase with its balcony space above. The house is home to a collection of over 300 paintings including many by famous grand masters.

We finished the tour of the house just in time for lunch. Suitably refreshed we walked to the oval lake which is in a beautiful setting. Beside the lake, is a memorial to Diana Spencer with her tomb resting in a peaceful setting on the island located in the middle of the lake. Before leaving the estate I purchased a couple of books and the updated guidebook.

On our way home we purchased the ingredients for lemon salmon with leek and potato mash. We had hoped to dine on the patio but a hail and rain shower changed our minds but at least it freshened the air making the temperature much more bearable.

I opted for the Vegetarian breakfast but when it arrived it was not the best. The eggs had been cooked in a pan that was too hot; the bottom of the eggs were burnt and inedible, the mushroom was dry around the edges and the beans were tepid.

We had decided to go to Oxford for the day so that we could visit Christ Church Cathedral. We opted to use the nearby Pear Tree park and ride rather than drive into the city. After being dropped off in Oxford centre we walked to the Cathedral, stopping off at Blackwell’s sci fi book shop. It had a fabulous selection of board games to peruse. I behaved myself and came away empty handed.

We arrived at the Cathedral to find that you had to prebook a ticket which included a tour of the surrounding university complex. After we had booked the earliest available tickets (15.15) online, we noticed a sign near the shop that was advertising earlier tickets at 13.30. The earlier ticket time suited us better so we asked at the entrance desk if we could change our ticket time and were pleasantly surprised to find we could.

We pottered around a nearby shopping arcade and had lunch in Coffee Smith café where I had a small slice of orange, passion fruit and almond cake. Then we browsed the adjoining indoor market until it was time to make our way back to Christ Church to pick up our tickets.

When we started the tour, we had forgotten that the Great Hall that the Harry Potter dining hall was based on was part of the tour. The hall is awe inspiring and still used for dining every day during term time and for other events.

In the Cathedral I particularly enjoyed the stained-glass windows especially the newest St Francis window. We weren’t able to access the nave due to a performance by a quartet of singers taking place. There was a one-way system in play so when I had finished the Cathedral tour, I had to retrace my steps outside to re-enter the Cathedral to get my passport stamped. The Cathedral guide was very excited to be stamping a passport.

We got caught in a heavy deluge of rain as we made our way back to the bus stop via Blackwell’s main bookshop. The rain was welcome but not ‘just now’. We spent some time browsing the bookshop but once again I wasn’t tempted to make a purchase.

Enjoying the cool fresh air after the rainfall, we freshened up before having a pre-dinner drink in the bar. When it was time to walk to the nearby Brotherton’s Brasserie Italian restaurant it had once again started to rain. The food was delicious but the desserts were enormous!

We returned to the billet for a nightcap and packing before our journey home the following day.

The bed was nice and comfy but I kept waking up due to the heat and lack of air in the room. The breakfast menu was comprehensive and had some unusual options to choose from. I selected coconut French toast with pineapple, honey and yoghurt which made for an interesting change.

After breakfast we collected our bags from our room and walked the short distance to Blenheim Palace. We walked round the grounds in the morning sunshine before it got hot later in the day. There is currently a dinosaur exhibition taking place in the formal gardens but when we found them, we thought that they were a bit something and nothing.

We arrived back at the café area just in time for lunch. After lunch we visited the Palace, chapel and exhibitions. We didn’t remember much of it from our previous visit which was several years ago. The are a few rooms on display in the Palace that are family rooms where photography is not allowed. After leaving this part of the tour there is a big notice to inform the visitor that photography is allowed from this point onwards.

I was taking a photo of an element of the gilded ceiling when a voice piped up in my ear; ‘photography is not allowed in here’. I initially thought it was a room guide but as I turned towards the voice, I realised it came from a visitor. I replied ‘Oh! I thought it was’ and pointed to the sign. After a bit of mumbling and ‘knowledgably’ informing her companions that photography was allowed, she promptly got her camera out without so much as an apology.

By the time we had finished our sightseeing, the cafés had closed so we made our way to the nearest watering hole, The Star, where I had a J20 rather than a cup of tea. As we walked there it was becoming increasingly more overcast. Just as we were about to sit outside the heavens opened causing us to retreat inside where Mr C made a new doggy friend. The dog tried its best to climb on to Mr C’s lap but its legs were just a little to short to manage it.

Back at the hotel, we freshened up before having a pre-dinner drink in the hotel bar area. We dined in the Punch Bowl where I chose a truffle crispy chicken burger. Strangely for a pub with rooms, it closed at 9.30pm so we returned to The King’s Head for a nightcap.

We set off for Woodstock in glorious sunshine, stopping in Leamington Spa. We found a suitable place to park the car and stepped out in search of a suitable place for lunch. Café Royal with its Mexican twist tempted us inside. It was popular so we had to wait outside for a few minutes until a table became available. Mr C chose a panini which when it arrived was quite different to what is usually served. I chose cherry pancakes which turned out to be sweeter than I was expecting.

Before leaving Leamington Spa, we enjoyed browsing around the books in Waterstones, which had a refreshingly different selection of books than usual. I also dealt with a missed call about a problem with a hospital appointment that mum was supposed to have attended that morning. It hadn’t happened, hospital transport had left without her! I missed the person I needed to speak to and needed to call back later in the week to speak to him.

We continued on our journey to Woodstock and booked into the King’s Head, a Fullers Inn. I unpacked my bag whilst Mr C went on a recce of the town. He wasn’t gone long even though he went round the town twice.

Our room was up in the eves with a small window light and a fan that wasn’t working properly. It didn’t rotate so the air in the room was static and warm reflecting the humidity and heat of the air outside. There was nothing for it, we had to ’slum it’ in the bar downstairs with a cool refreshing drink, although much to Mr C’s disgust London Pride (in a Fullers pub) was off the menu. Whilst chilling in the bar I enjoyed colouring in one of my colouring books.

We went back to our room to freshen up, which was difficult in the heat, before dining in the Inn’s restaurant. I chose salmon with orzo, samphire and tomatoes and Mr C elected for pie and chips. Both dishes were delicious. After chatting at the table for a while, we took the remaining wine and sat outside in the warm, refreshing air.

Reputedly England’s smallest town, nestling in the shadows of the Chiltern Hills, Watlington offers a traditional market town welcome.

With origins dating back to the 6th century, the proximity of the Icknield Way, civil war connections, and mention in the Domesday Book, Watlington is certainly steeped in history. The fine 17th Century Town Hall is accompanied by many 16th century and Georgian buildings, as well as the venerable church of St Leonard’s. Watlington exhibits the specialist shops, pubs, small businesses, and great hospitality, which make it the very epitome of a small English Market town.

In 1664–65 Watlington Town Hall was built at the expense of Thomas Stonor. Its upper room was endowed by Stonor as a grammar school for boys, and in 1731 Dame Alice Tipping of Ewelme gave a further endowment to increase the number of pupils. In 1842 the town Vestry established a National School, which shared the same rooms in the town hall.

Sri Sarada Devi

After a family gathering in Banbury last March we planned to return later in the year to visit Broughton Castle and perhaps sample some pancakes in the Little Amsterdam Cafe. The occasion of Mr C’s birthday was the perfect to occasion to realise our plan.

We arrived in Banbury just in time for lunch and headed straight to the Little Amsterdam Cafe. As it was lunchtime I elected for something light and chose a pancake with hot raspberries and ice cream whilst Mr C chose chicken stilton and mushroom. I can confirm my pancake tasted as delicious as it looks in the photograph. After lunch we had a brief look around the town before heading off to Broughton Castle. We had timed our arrival to when it was just opening so were among the first to arrive.

We joined the back of the small queue of people purchasing tickets. There was a man talking incessantly about how he had only come to look at the castle because he thought it was only a ruin and now he now realised that it wasn’t and would buy the guidebook and come back with his wife another time. When a car drove down through the gateway to the property in what can only be called a rude manner he challenged the people inside it, ‘are you the owners?’ They were not, one of the passengers had a disability, this led to the man becoming even more rude and out of order grumbling at the staff about him being unfairly treated as he had been made to park his car in the car park and he was disabled.

Then he began a rant which did not make complete sense but was over the top. I think there had been a misunderstanding about his needs due to his disability. Some people just like to make life harder for themselves than it needs to be and then  to grumble and cause trouble.

I am not sure if he was able to resolve his issue with the member of staff who was trying to help him out but eventually he made his way back towards the car park and out of earshot. Peace and tranquillity resumed. After purchasing our tickets we decided to do a tour of the gardens first. The sun was out and we were unsure of what the weather would do later and also we thought that most visitors would do the house first making it quieter later also.

The gardens and grounds are delightful as is the castle, more accurately described as a fortified manor house. The house is interesting both architecturally and historically. The house has been in continuous ownership of the same family since 1377. The house is home to Lord and Lady Saye & Sele whose family name is Fiennes. When we had finished viewing the house we thought it necessary for a visit to the tea room where we opted to share a slice of orange cake accompanied by a refreshing drink. When we were suitably refreshed we visited the Parish Church of St Mary Broughton with North Newington before setting out on our journey homeward.

The return journey wasn’t pleasant; there were delays in the rush hour traffic. The SatNav initially told us we would arrive home at 18.30 and we had booked a meal reservation on the basis of this. A short while into our journey the arrival time had changed to 19.30 and then more alarmingly to 20.10. As the SatNav normally advises of shorter journey times (it has live traffic updates) we were a little puzzled that it had not provided any alternative route information and we didn’t feel that the arrival time was correct.

I made the bold decision (bearing in mind we are in congested traffic) and said I am going to reset our journey. Mr C said do it quickly then because we were at the point of making a choice of route. I complied and the SatNav recalculated and changed its original route advising that our arrival time would be 19.00.

Phew… We arrived home with just enough time to freshen up and chill out before it was time for our evening meal in the Ugly Duckling.

Previously referred to as the ’roundabout’, in 2012 the Roundel was restored and turned into a beautiful water feature.

The late 1890s and early 1900s saw the Roundel at its finest, but the 21st century saw this garden feature in need of restoration and rejuvenation. In early 2012, the 11th Duke of Malborough, with the generous support of the USA Blenheim Foundation, undertook the task of restoring the Roundel. The statue was restored , and an ornamental pond was created with 12 water jets added to create additional splendour.