Oxford and the Cotswolds

We met the group with Back Roads tours on Tuesday - bright and early at the hotel and headed out in the rain - thankfully, just as we arrived in Oxford, the sky cleared and the sun came out.   We walked around Oxford - the buildings are amazing

I did not see any students running with their scholarly gowns on but we did make are way to Christ Church College - where 13 UK Prime Ministers attended and more recently the dining hall was the inspiration for the Harry Potter films.  Christ Church Chapel has been the cathedral for Oxford since the time of Henry the VIII

(sorry I am trying to upload more photos but having technical difficulities - I will try another day to see if I can post more photos)

We then headed to the grave of Sir Winston Churchill in Bladon - it is quite an unassuming resting place amongst his family members.  We then crossed the road and visited a pub for lunch.  We then headed off to visit Blenheim Palace - the birthplace of Churchill and the current residence (one of) of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough - they have private apartments within the palace separate from the public state rooms.  The palace and grounds are quite grandiose and include more than 2000 acres, a maze, water features, formal gardens and more.  Kathleen and I had tea on the patio overlooking the formal gardens - we enjoyed our tea with chocolates from Harrods - yum!!

We then wandered the back roads of the Cotswolds and came upon the Kings Men Stone Circle - a circle of stones older than Stonehedge - legend has it that a witch cursed a king and his men and turned them into stones.  The stones are obviously very old and worn and are just is a field a very short walk from the road - there are no concessions or fanfare other than a simple sign. 

We then headed to Chipping Campden and our hotel for a couple of nights The Noel Arms Hotel - getting to our rooms is a bit of a trek and a maze - up and then down steps - through this door, across a sitting room and then through another 2 or 3 doors - it is a test each time we head back to the room to ensure we don't take a wrong turn.