Made up of mellow stone buildings, many of which are medieval, the city of Oxford is the ideal base for an exploration of Oxfordshire. The city itself is picturesque, but also compact, making it easy to walk around and take in the many sights on offer. See the college buildings that make up the University of Oxford, visit the world’s oldest museum, the Ashmolean, to see its Egyptian and Anglo-Saxon treasures, and admire Oxford Botanic Garden, Britain’s oldest botanical garden, right in the heart of the city.
A short drive north west of the city lies Blenheim Palace, one of the most impressive places to visit in Oxfordshire. This lavish 18th-century stately home is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough, and is the birthplace and ancestral home of Britain’s wartime Prime Minster, Sir Winston Churchill. The baroque palace is full of art and treasures, but the Capability Brown landscape in which it sits will delight lovers of beautiful views. In fact, the vista from the Woodstock Gate over Queen Pool, the iconic Vanbrugh Bridge and palace beyond was christened the ‘finest view in England’ by Winston’s father, Sir Randolph Churchill.
Large walled gardens, ponds and cascades await visitors to Rousham House & Gardens in nearby Steeple Aston. Originally built in 1635 by Sir Robert Dormer, the landscape was designed by William Kent in the 18th century. Representing the first phase of English landscape design, it has escaped alteration to make it one of the best-preserved gardens of its period.
Many features, which delighted 18th-century visitors to Rousham, are still in situ, such as the ponds and cascades in Venus’s vale, the cold bath, the seven-arched Praeneste, Townsend’s building, the temple of the mill, and, on the skyline, a
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