Bourton to Woodstock

June 8, 2025

It was a lovely sunny but cool this morning so Tim and I went for a short walk to take some photos without all of the people in them. There is an assortment of some of the lovely buildings here and the River Windrush that runs through here and ultimately reaches the Thames.

Bow Cottage. All the houses here have lovely names rather than addresses.

The 2 of us with Sam a rambunctious 4 year old terrier that belongs to the woman who took our photo.

Today’s route. Except for the climb out of town it was a pretty easy ride being down wind a more downhill than up.

We passed through Burford which is another lovely town with a spectacular church. As we approached Woodstock we rode through the grounds of Blenheim Palace. This is not hard to do since the grounds of the palace cover 2000 acres. There was a triathlon going on around the palace so we decided to carry on to Woodstock for lunch and then we went back to the palace about 3pm. It was still a busy place but me managed to wind our way to the entrance on foot. Blenheim palace is named after the 1704 Battle of Blenheim. It was originally intended to be a reward to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough for his military triumphs against the French and Bavarians in the War of the Spanish Succession, culminating in the Battle of Blenheim. The land was given as a gift, and construction began in 1705, with some financial support from Queen Anne. It is also famous for being the birthplace of Winston Churchill. The palace remains in the hands of the Churchill family. If built today it would cost £500 million or $1B.

In Burford what I suspect was once a town hall but now a museum

The lovely church in Burford. This area is fairly wealthy from the wool trade in years gone by hence the fancy church.

The Levellers were once supporters of Cromwell’s democratic movement away from the crown. However they had a falling out and the Levellers lost and were executed.

A poor house was first established here in 1457.

Tim entering the cycle path that took us through the Palace grounds.

Blenheim Palace with some of triathletes passing by on their bikes.

On our way to Blenheim Palace I saw this sign

The courtyard of the palace that was the transition zone for the triathlon

The first Earl of Marlborough who won the battle at Blenheim and was given the property by Queen Mary.

The room where Winston Churchill was born

The library in the palace with a statue of Queen Mary

Churchill's early school report card, it is not very flattering

The stuffs eating area in the lower part of the palace

The lake and bridge to the rest of the property

Our quaint little inndor tonight that has only 6 rooms, we are on the top floor.

Our room complete with wooden beams and an antler light

Today's ride: 46 km (29 miles)
Total: 260 km (161 miles)

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