Christmas with Winston Churchill

After days of village hopping and market shopping we decide to dive into some history and art ( with a big scoop of Christmas!)

Blenheim castle, situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire is the seat of the Duke of Marlborough, and the birthplace of Winston Churchill.

Blenheim Palace is the home of the Duke of Marlborough. The line of the Duke of Marlborough contains the Churchill’s, the Spencer’s ( of Princess Diana fame) and a Vanderbilt to name a few. Winston’s parents were invited to a party at the Palace by the then Duke of Marlborough, Winston’s grandfather. While one of his famous quotes is …it is not in our power to anticipate our destiny, Winston must have sensed his destiny for though he was not due for several weeks, he was born at Belheim during the party! Now that is a great example of seize the day!

The palace is majestic and formidable. It is reminiscent of Versailles though the style is English baroque, okay, well not really Versailles, but if you squint it has that dominant palatial air to it, 12,000 acres of gardens, farmland, forest etc surround the palace- you see what we mean.

While we were so interested in the history of its inhabitants, in a nod to Christmas the palace has set a theme to decorate.

This year’s theme is the story of Sleeping Beauty. Music from the ballet and from the Nutcracker, as well as other classics plays as you follow the halls through the story of the child spared from the fairy’s curse only to sleep for 100 years until true love finds her. Hardly a space exists undecorated.

Christmas trees of all colors form a forest in the grand hallway, each tree festooned with baubles, ribbon, flowers, miniature figures and such.Beyond the trees, the portraits and paintings that usually dress the walls enjoy the crowds.

The statuary and mirrors are stunning. Kids from one to ninety- two will delight in this. At the end, the beautiful princess, awake from her slumber greets the on- lookers.

We took advantage of the time and daylight to walk the grounds. Here, as is true of many great sites, Harry Potter did some filming for outside Hogwarts. We are staying for dark to walk the illuminated light trail.

It was enthralling. The chill with a threat off snow added to the magic. Light displays animated to holiday music created enchanting vignettes along a 2.5 mile path. Fountains shot up in time to the lights and music creating surreal shapes and figures.

A huge old tree lined with light strips, seemed to come alive and grow as Pentatonix sang My Favorite Things.

The trail ended at Santa’s workshop where Father Christmas greeted everyone and a light snow fell near the stable of reindeer. Now that was special. Winston really knows how to throw a Christmas party!