Jousting at Blenheim Palace - May 7, 2012

Bank holiday Monday May 7

This was the day that I'd be moving across the courtyard at the B&B to the larger room with ensuite bathroom. I thought I'd buy some postcards and have a relaxing afternoon in but first decided to drive back to Summertown to email from Starbucks. That was one of the easier drives. At a fair-sized, well-marked roundabout, the turnoff onto Woodstock Road takes you straight down to the Summertown shopping area in no time.

I had heard about a jousting match at Blenheim Palace but it was cold and pouring rain. I considered driving up to Chipping Norton, just to stay in the warm car.

But after emailing from Starbucks in Summertown I drove north toward Woodstock and though I hadn't really decided on whether or not to go to Blenheim Palace, there it was. You can't miss it.

I drove through the gates into the huge grounds, parked the car and walked across the muddy field. Perhaps I could have taken the train.

There were pheasants - tamer than ours, not that I've seen one for several years.

My purple umbrella that I would later leave in the gift shop and never see again. There was some uncertainly about the jousting taking take place because the ground might have been too slippery for the horses. But someone in the gift shop - white building on the right - did some checking and reported that it was going ahead.

I did one tour of the palace and saved the other for later because the jousting was about to begin. It involved another long walk down a wet, sometimes muddy path to get to a field with a roped off ring area.

Let the jousting begin

A photo shoot.

The four horses and riders gathered...

Then went charging into the ring one by one. It was hilarious good fun with lots of banter between riders and announcer. Horses were fast and very agile, like polo ponies.

Some 'casualties' happened at ground level.

Some final laps... 

... then the crowd herded back to the palace. I enjoyed that immensely even in the rain. It was probably the first time I laughed since Winslow.

On a nice day one could spend hours exploring the 2000+ acre property.

I should have written more about Blenheim Palace, home of the Churchill family. Apparently photography wasn't allowed because I have no photos of the interior. 

At the front steps, if you look up, you see a bunch of eyeballs looking at you.

It doesn't appear to have stopped raining but it must have if I left without my umbrella.

Back in Burford I had fish and chips for supper.

Oxford May 4, 2012 - Part 2



It was a thrill for me to see the Radcliffe Camera. Apparently Headington stone was used on the lower part of the building, while stone on the upper part was from Burford in the Cotswolds, which probably accounts for the more honeyish colour there.

The Old Bank Hotel would have been my choice of places to stay if money was no object.

Hertford Bridge, commonly known as The Bridge of Sighs, mentioned in the Small Faces' song Itchycoo Park, was another thrill for me to see. Singer Steve Marriott of that band died in Arkesden, Essex, which was a place I'd hoped to get to for family research purposes, but didn't.

Oxford's construction fences are a little classier than ours.

The Macdonald Randolph Hotel probably would have been my second choice of places to stay in Oxford.

Now I was heading back toward Summertown.

Sadly, I never got to see Oxford in sunlight or nice light as shown in this postcard.

Oxford May 4, 2012 - Part 1

I did a lot of walking on this day, apparently to the train station area three times (!). That's where the car rental places are.

The down side of travelling with no restrictions and plans is that sometimes you don't know where you'll be sleeping next and you can spend a lot of time trying to figure it out. I was starting to get a complex about Fridays in England as this was reminding me of that lousy Friday in London.

Back home I came to a brick wall when planning the Oxford part of the trip and it didn't change when I got there. I decided to go to Burford next. Two problems: the only bus there on a Sunday was at 7:00 pm (and it would be the same on the bank holiday Monday), and rooms were booked up because of an airshow south of Oxford.

All this wouldn't have happened if I hadn't booked Oxford in the first place. Then I would have happily still been in Winslow, and leaving here on a week day when things would be normal.

The information office in town was virtually useless. In fact, a fellow at a car rental outfit said the people who work there barely know they're in Oxford. They gave completely wrong directions to the Avis office, which put needless mileage on my feet.

The nice man at the Avis office said he just couldn't justify the rates for an automatic and suggested trying Thrifty's, which is a little beyond the train station. If I'd known then that I'd wind up with a standard, I would have stuck with Avis. But at Thrifty's the choice was between a mid-size automatic or a small standard. I chose the standard, figuring a switch could be made later if necessary or, if I hated driving altogether, I'd cancel the whole thing. I'd never driven a car with the gearshift on the left before. It was unfortunate too that they didn't have a GPS available. I was travelling without my navigator, Glenn, and I have no sense of direction.

So the next day I would trek out past the train station again to get the car and drive it up through Oxford to the B&B. Then it would be handy to head straight out to the Cotswolds on Sunday morning... if only I knew where I was going.

I had been emailing some hotels and B&B's but didn't find a place to stay. I could drive around aimlessly looking for a vacancy, or possibly stay in Oxford another night, which I was hoping not to do.

First off, I walked by the house Percy, Sallie and Ida were living in when they signed the 99 year lease for the house on Woodstock Road.  

I walked through Oxford past the Malmaison Hotel, which used to be a prison. I believe it was featured in an episode of Lewis.

 By the train station are many bicycles.

Back in town, I stopped in at the Ashmolean, which is free, and had lunch there - pot pie and green salad. 

Messiah. This violin from Stradivari's 'Golden Period' of about 1700 - 1720 is considered by many to be his finest work.

Out to the train station area I went again, this time following along a canal, which, I guess, was the Oxford Canal.

I think this clock was near the train station.

Back in town, I'm about to climb the 99 steps of the Carfax Tower.

Carfax Tower

This could be one of Glenn's model street scenes.

It would have been nice to see these views in the sunshine.

What goes up must go down.

 I don't know what this was for.

There was a big line up for these cookies at a market. I thought that if I worked around there, I'd be eating them all the time.