Blenheim Palace located in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds town of Woodstock, is a masterpiece of English Baroque architecture. It was started in 1705 and finished in 1722. Blenheim Palace is set in 2,100 acres of spectacular parkland and surrounded by sweeping lawns and formal gardens. The Palace name "Blenheim" comes from the Battle of Blenheim, which was fought in August 1704, where John Churchill, the first duke of Marlborough gained victory over the French. For his battle success, the first duke of Marlborough was rewarded by Queen Anne, gave him Woodstock and said she would build hi [View Full Entry]

---

---

The Duke of Marlborough is Woodstock's best kept Inn! Nestled just minutes away from the "hustle & bustle" of the historic town of Woodstock home to Blenheim Palace, is this gem of Great British Inns. Our hosts Jan and Derek were kind and welcoming. Jan a friendly gal with a ready smile who likes to fly to New York City on shopping junkets hit it off instantly with Holly; I could not get the two to stop talking about scrapbooking. Derek a happy fellow with a keen sense of humour and a quick wit kept both Holly and I laughing and [View Full Entry]

---

---

After checking into our B&B The Alcuin Lodge, just a five minute walk from the York city walls; we took a walk through 1900 years of history on York's city walls. Built in Roman times, these three and one half miles of Roman fortifications let you see York from a different and very beautiful perspective. They've been added to and rebuilt over time and now have parts from across the centuries. York has a very long and intricate history. I will not get into much of it here, but it is the cathedral city of the Archbishop of York. The Romans [View Full Entry]

---

---

On our drive to the northern City of York, we made a quick stop at Coventry and headed straight to the ruins of Coventry Cathedral, Church of St. Michael. The ruins of St Michael’s are the consequence of violence in our own century. On the night of 14 November 1940, the city of Coventry was devastated by bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe. The Cathedral burned with the city, having been hit by several incendiary devices. The new cathedral was consecrated on 25 May 1962, in the presence of HM The Queen. The ruins remain hallowed ground and together the two create [View Full Entry]

---

---

Elegant Burford, the Gateway to the Cotswolds, contains many beautiful buildings dating back to Tudor and Georgian times. The Burford Parish Church with its slender steeple lies by the River Windrush. The central part of the Tower and west doorway are Norman while the rest of the church dates from around the 15th century. In May 1649 at the end of the English Civil War, 340 of the Levellers were rounded up and imprisoned in Burford Church by Cromwell and his men. Carvings from the incarcerated soldiers and the bullet holes of the three executed ring leaders can still be seen [View Full Entry]

---

---

Chipping Campden is one of the loveliest small towns in the Cotswolds and a gilded masterpiece of limestone and craftmanship. A feature of its beautiful High Street is the 17th century Market Hall. The main street curves in a shallow arc lined with a succession of ancient houses each with it's own distinctive embellishments. As the name suggests (Chipping means market) Chipping Campden was one of the most important of the medieval wool towns and famous throughout Europe. This legacy of fame and prosperity is everything that give the town it's character. Campden is quite possible an ol [View Full Entry]

---

---

A busy market town on the northern edge of the Cotswolds. Moreton-in-Marsh grew up on the route of the Roman Fosse Way which runs through the main street, and the old London to Worcester highway, a prominent coaching route. Moreton in Marsh; the "Marsh" oddly enough comes from "march" meaning boundary. It was where four counties: Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Oxfordshire met. The wide main street is typical of many Cotswold towns. Houses and shops of the 18th and 19th century line the High Street, and in the centre is the Redesdale Hall, dating from 1887, the town&rsq [View Full Entry]

---

---

Stow-on-the-Wold is a small, but well-known, market town set in the Cotswold Hills and near the north-east corner of the English county of Gloucestershire. Set on a hill top, it stands beside the Roman Fosse Way at its junction with six other roads, and where a settlement has existed since the Iron Age. Like many of the Cotswold towns and villages, the houses were built with the very distinctive honey colored Cotswold stone from the local quarries. Many of the buildings date back to the 16th century. Once famous for its sheep market, now famous for its antiques trade. A major [View Full Entry]

---

---

The two villages of Lower and Upper Slaughter are two of the most picturesque villages in England. These villages are only just over a mile from Bourton-on-the-Water, they are very secluded and quiet, no shops restaurants or attractions. The name of Slaughter has no connection with blood but is derived from the old English word Slohtre meaning a wet land or 'slough'. Spend 30 minutes there and you will begin to feel like an old-timer. These villages are much as they were 200 years ago, and while they are beautiful places to be, there is very little to do. An alternative [View Full Entry]

---

---

With the River Windrush running through the center of the village Bourton-on-the-Water is often referred to as the 'Venice of the Cotswolds'. Bourton-on-the-Water has more than its share of Cotswold houses and cottages, many of them three hundred years old, some dating back to Elizabethan times four hundred years ago. There is plenty to see and do here, including a Bourton-on-the-Water Model Village, a 1/9th replica of Bourton-on-the-Water, built from the local Cotswold stone. Or just promenade up one side of the river and down the other, taking in all the sights. [View Full Entry]

---

---