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| Blenheim Palace entrance |
The next day, Stef picked us up, and together we visited Blenheim Palace, not far from Oxford. The palace is named for the 1704 Battle of Blenheim, and thus ultimately after Blindheim (also known as Blenheim) in Bavaria. 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.
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| Blenheim Palace ready for Halloween |
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| Posing and freezing in front of the palace |
The day had started cold but sunny but very soon it was overcast, windy and rainy which stopped us from walking through the huge park.
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| Levi, the guide who gave us insights on Blenheim Palace |
After we had visited the inside of the palace including an exhibition on Sir Winston Churchill who was born here, we found the restaurant at the Orangeries and had a nice lunch there with an amusing Spanish waiter entertaining us.
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| Winston Churchill, part of the Blenheim history |
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| Copy of a provided air view of Blenheim Palace |
Back at the campsite, we spent the rainy afternoon with radio communication as a worldwide contest took place, and with planning our last days in England. During a short period without rain, we walked to the next supermarket and that was it. It was freezing cold, and we truly enjoyed the warmth of the camper.
We left Oxford and drove in the direction of London and then south until we reached Chartwell, the family home of the Churchill family. It was well visited, and the house was full of people. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the visit with so many memorabilia of this great man and his wife, Clementine.
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| Chartwell, home of W. Churchill |
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| Very nice garden @ Chartwell |
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| The cigar of Winston … |
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| Tea @ Chartwell |
Nearby, there was a different house, which we visited the same day: Ightham Mote, a medieval moated manor with 700 years of history, restored with big effort by the National Trust.
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| Ightham Mote |
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| Nicely restored in 2003 and saved from destruction |
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| the courtyard of Ightham |
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| Hail @ Ightham Mote |
We found a lovely pub afterwards, where we finally had our Sunday roast, before we stopped at a little parking for the night.
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| Sunday Roast for Veggies – what a nice treat! |
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| Parking for the Night |
In the morning, we discovered the boulders next to our parking and took a walk along this 800 meter long stone formation.
Our last castle on this trip was Scotney Castle. Once a medieval castle with moat, later partly demolished to create a romantic folly as the centre of the park surrounding the new house from 1827. This manor was lived in until just a couple of years ago by the Hussey family.
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| The medieval Scotney Castle |
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| and the new manor of 1827 |
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| Dinner table with a view |
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| Wonderful garden @ Scotney Castle |
In the afternoon, we reached Canterbury, which is an exceptional town in England, as it offers a caravan parking at the Park & Ride with a service station for campers. For only 3.50 pounds a day, we could park there very comfortably and even had the bus into the centre included in the price – a big plus for this beautiful town.
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| Maybe rain is coming? @ Canterbury |
The weather had changed to cold and rainy, but we could visit the huge cathedral and the centre of Canterbury.
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| Canterbury Cathedral |
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| Modern art @ Canterbury Cathedral |
In the morning, it was a short drive to Dover and onto our ferry back to the mainland, this time with big waves and a grey and rainy sky.
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| Bumpy sea on the way back to Dunkirk |
We are now on the way back to Austria, where we want to spend Christmas with our family and enjoy some winter days, before we will head to Spain again – more soon!
