The House on Ladd

Day 6 we woke to the most beautiful view! Breakfast overlooking the pond is something I will cherish forever. While we ate, a couple and their dogs walked through the meadow behind the pond. I love that the land is for everyone here.

On this day, we drove to Blenheim Palace, Winston Churchill’s birthplace. He was born in the coat closet! They had a spectacular exhibit going ahead of the Coronation, highlighting the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and their long history with the Royal Family starting with Queen Anne.

I had yet to watch Bridgerton, so I did not have a full appreciation for the costumes and Whilstedown style letters throughout the exhibit. How fun to look back, especially when watching the Queen Charlotte spin-offs to see the locations where we were! Blenheim Palace was used as the set for Buckingham Palace in the series.

On through the exhibit were costumes from The Crown and Victoria on PBS. I was in heaven! The gown used for the Coronation scene was made by Swarovski. It was absolutely covered in Swarovski crystals and dazzled like I never dreamed. I always thought it was just embroidered, since the televised Coronation footage is black and white.

We learned so much about Winston Churchill, including that it took him several tries to get into Military School, and also to find a wife! Clementine was his third proposal… They did a beautiful job capturing his life from birth through to his time as Prime Minister.

We had tea at Clementine’s on the Lawn (The Orangery was under construction). This was Austin’s first time for Afternoon Tea. I giggled when he asked the waitress, “does this include food?” His eyes lit up when they brought the tiered tray full of delights. He may have even gotten us seconds…

We wandered the grounds for hours, there was so much to see. At one point, we did the maze and quickly realized mazes were not for us… We slipped through a side door in desperation, only to realize we had to slip back in to be able to get out. Whew, we avoided all mazes after that.

After seeing the Palace, we drove to Bourton-on-the-Water to see the Miniature Village. It was… not worth the rush back… But the town was so lovely. We walked down the lane, past the river and brick homes and came upon a step ladder over a nearby fence for a public walkway through a meadow. I truly love that the land is open, unlike Texas. Walk through our land and you might meet an unhappy end. It was an inspiration for simply hospitality.

If we ate dinner, it was not memorable. Back to the Christmas Cottage to get ready for the next day!

xo, Amanda