The time was November 2004 and continuing with our tradition of day trips we shortlisted Oxford as our next destination. This was a city which has been on our list for quite some time. There were many reasons for that. Oxford has a history of being the top education establishment worldwide although it has lost that status now. Oxford has been the learning seat for many famous Indian dignitaries for quite some time and still to this date India students form the fifth largest International student's group here. Famous Indian alumni include India’s first female Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, his son Rajiv Gandhi as well as its current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Bollywood film star Soha Ali Khan. Another charm of visiting Oxford was to cover Blenheim Palace, the famous shooting location for the hit Bollywood movies Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001). We were specially keen to see the magnificent garden where Shahrukh Khan's helicopter lands and he starts running towards the palace in the movie.
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| Dining hall of a College |
We arrived at the Oxford train station at around 10am and headed straight to the city center to get a feel of the city. There is a tower called Carfax Tower located in the city center and people suggested us to get to the top of the tower to get a bird's eye view of the city. The tower is 23 m (74 ft) tall, and no building in central Oxford may be constructed higher than it. The tower is open 10am–5.30pm (Easter to October) 10am–3.30pm (October to Easter). A nice medley of ancient buildings were visible from the top of the tower and we were told that most of them were the colleges of the Oxford university. The University of
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| An Oxford College visible in background |
Oxford has 38 Colleges and 6 Permanent Private Halls (PPHs) of religious foundation. Colleges and PPHs are autonomous self-governing corporations within the university, and all teaching staff and students studying for a degree of the university must belong to one of the colleges or PPHs. A typical college consists of a hall for dining, a chapel, a library, a college bar, senior, middle (postgraduate) and junior common rooms, rooms for 200-400 undergraduates as well as lodgings for the head of the college and other dons. College buildings range from the medieval to very modern buildings, but most are made up of interlinked quadrangles (courtyards), with a lodge controlling entry from the outside.
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| Miniature Train Ride - Blenheim Palace |
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| Lake - Blenheim Palace |
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| Miniature Train - Blenheim Palace |
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| Backside - Blenheim Palace |
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| Main Gate - Blenheim Palace |
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| Gardens - Blenheim Palace |
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| Gardens - Blenheim Palace |
After spending a few hours in Oxford city we headed straight to the Blenheim Palace and spent most the remaining day there. It was quite a grand sight seeing the main building of the palace after entering through the main gate. This was precisely the place where Sharukh Khan's helicopter lands in the Bollywood movie as mentioned above. We walked around the place basking in the glory of the filmy setting.
Set in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, Blenheim Palace is considered to be one of the finest baroque houses in the country. It was a gift from Queen Anne and a grateful nation to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, in recognition of his famous victory over the French at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Sir Winston Churchill was born in the Palace in 1874 and a permanent exhibition about him is located next to his birth room - both are included in the Palace tour. Sir Winston loved Blenheim Palace and, as a member of the family, was a frequent visitor during his long life.
Surrounding the Palace are over 2000 acres of beautiful 'Capability' Brown parkland, the Great Lake, fountains and formal gardens including the recently restored 'Secret Garden', the Italian Garden, the Water Terraces, Rose Garden and Grand Cascade. It turned out to be pretty huge area and we tried to cover the key areas of the park and the gardens. By the time we finished we were feeling pretty hungry. We sat on the grass and enjoyed the delicious home made Indian food we had brought. Nothing beats the pleasure of having some tasty Indian food sitting in the middle of a British park so as to have the best of both worlds - Indian food and Britain's natural beauty.
Finally we decided to wrap-up the visit by taking a ride on the miniature train. The miniature train, a great favorite with all ages, connects the Palace to the Pleasure Gardens where a range of fun activities for children are located including the Marlborough Maze, the Butterfly House, the Lavender Garden, Adventure Playground and Blenheim Bygones exhibition.
It was time for another train journey back to Coventry. That's all for now. Keep coming back to know more about the other similar hidden gems England has got.
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