Bletchley Park

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Moving on to Oxford today, we decided that we would spend the day at Bletchley Park, as it was close to Oxford. We knew that because it is the weekend that many people would be out and about, and the other place we really want to visit, Blenheim Palace, would be better after the weekend. Bletchley Park was a secret base during WWII. It decoded messages, troup movements and orders from the German enigma machines. We arrived about 11.30 after a two hour drive through some lovely autumn colours. It has taken until the last week or so for the trees to really change into the autumn colours. We began with an introductory short film, then picked up our audio guides and started to wander around the property. To keep the work really secret, the team of decoders was moved into the country to a large country house. They soon outgrew the big house and the small cottages that were already on the estate. Huts were added and late on larger buildings needed to be built. Their job was to try and break the codes the Germans we using, generated by the Enigma machines. It took quite a bit of time and man power. They were helped by the Poles and other allied countries, who were also trying to find out what the Germans were going to do next. Mathematicians were recruited to help work out the formulas, and in the process began to produce what are now seen as the first computers. These machines were able to to be set each day, once the decoders had worked out the code for the day. These machines could then break down the messages more quickly than the humans. The work of the people working at Bletchley was not acknowledged during the war at all, and it is only in recent times that there has been interest and recognition of their feats. We saw some great displays of how the decoding was achieved. we also saw a recreation of the machines they invented to break the codes. At the end of the war, the people at Bletchley were just sent back into society. They were not allowed to talk about what they had done during the war, and the decoding machines were dismantled. The site is set up as it was during the war in many places- with the house and the huts furnished with the basics - as they were at the time - and also with some audio and lighting effects to simulate the people working away. It was a very interesting day! About 3 we set off for Oxford. Weekend traffic is a bit more hectic, but we arrived in about an hour and found our hotel. After a rest and cup of tea, we walked into Oxford to have dinner. We ate at Pierre Victoire- surprisingly a French restaurant! A nice meal of Moules and St Jacques for starters, and Cordon Bleu de poulet and filet du porc en croute for main. We really couldn’t fit anything else in after that! Walking home was hard work as all of Oxford seemed to be in town. The footpaths were crowded until we reached our end of town. Tomorrow we will spend time exploring the town.

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