As there's no direct bus route from our village to the palace, our day started off with a 25-minute walk on a public footpath.
Helena was thrilled to be at a real-life palace.
The palace was built in the early 1700s. The land and 240,000 pounds were given to the first Duke of Marlborough as a gift from Queen Anne, because he had led the victorious Battle of Blenheim. By the time the seventh duke was in charge, all of the money was gone and it was hard to get more, as dukes were not allowed to work. He sold all the books in the huge library. After the ninth Duke of Marlborough married a Consuelo Vanderbilt and thus her money, he bought books by the yard in order to refill the library. Can you imagine buying books by the yard?
It was the most gorgeous day we've had in the U.K., so exploring the neighboring village and the Pleasure Gardens of the palace was most enjoyable!
The kids were thrilled to take a train to the gardens. Here's Benjamin waiting for the train to start!
By the time we were walking back home on the public footpath, the fog was settling back in.
1 comment:
What a perfect day! Love the pictures.
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