The churchyard of St Martin’s, Bladon, Oxfordshire, contains the last resting place of one of the towering figures of the Twentieth Century, a scion of the Marlborough family of neighbouring Blenheim Palace.

Winston Spencer Churchill:-

And of his wife Clemmy:-

Just opposite the grave is this homage to Churchill from the Danish Resistance:-

In the vestibule of St Martin’s is this memorial plaque to Churchill, which also commemorates the peal of bells rung in his memory after the interment:-

Also in the churchyard is a war grave, that of Private J Shayler, Pioneer Corps, 1/5/1944, aged 55:-

One of the attractions at Blenheim Palace is a miniature railway which every half hour does a trip from near the car park to a play area, maze and garden centre type thingy.

This is the railway’s station:-

I photographed the train on its return journey to the car park:-

This handsome gentleman was walking along by the side of the station when the train had pulled up:-

This year we returned to Blenheim (the ticket gives free re-entry within a year) and had time to make a trip on the train:-

The locomotive is named after one of Blenheim’s most famous sons:-

I mentioned in passing last year that we had visited Blenheim Palace on our way back from the Netherlands.

The Palace was in effect a gift from a grateful nation to John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, in recognition of his military victories in the War of the Spanish Succession, though the money to build it soon ran out.

View from car park. This shows the side of the Palace:-

Main Entrance to the Palace:-

From the driveway to the Marlborough Monument:-

From the formal garden:-

Marlborough Monument from the driveway:-

After Harwich/Dovercourt we headed to Blenheim Palace which is close to Oxford, specifically by the village of Woodstock. The journey took much longer than Google Maps had suggested it would so we didn’t really have enough time there. Though we saw most of the rooms on show the Palace is huge and the grounds enormous; so much so we’ll have to go back to take it all in. (The entry gives you the option of free return within a year. Maybe in spring.)

We wandered round Woodstock itself – the buildings are made from Cotswold stone, very warm in appearance.

The War memorial is situated in the churchyard and has a simple elegant cross design on a plinth inscribed, “To the Memory of the Fallen 1914-18 1939-45 In Sure and Certain Hope.”