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A sliver of streets in biscuit shades, the centre of Woodstock is romcom photogenic, but with a lived-in feel. Yet this Oxfordshire town swerves some of the Cotswolds’ coach-hopping crowds as they file off towards its best-known attraction, Winston Churchill’s birthplace, Blenheim Palace.
Staying overnight offers the chance to explore Blenheim’s grounds before day-trippers arrive. With a weekend-long visit, you can also partake in Woodstock’s community spirit, seen, for example, in its monthly, welcome-all coffee mornings at the 12th-century St Mary Magdalene Church and at The Oxfordshire Museum with its volunteer-run café.
The home of Geoffrey Chaucer’s supposed son Thomas is on the way to BlenheimThose looking to delve deeper into local history might book in with a guide, such as Jaye Johnson from Oxford Official Walking Tours (£160 for an hour’s private tour, oxfordofficialwalkingtours.org). She’ll give context to stops such as 28 Park Street, a Grade II listed building thought to have been the home of Thomas Chaucer, a speaker of the House of Commons in the 15th century and the supposed son of Geoffrey Chaucer.
Quick guide
Nearest station: Oxford or Oxford Parkway. Transport: The S7 bus runs from Woodstock to Oxford station and near Oxford Parkway; the S3 runs between Oxford station and Woodstock (both around 30–40 minutes). The town itself is walkable. Stay: The Feathers Hotel, a 17th-century townhouse a couple of minutes’ walk from the from the front of the townhall, where the farmers’ market is held. For more, see booking.com or hotels.com Eat: Alfonso, The Nest, The Aviary Drink: Stags Head, The Foresters Arms, The Luttrell Arms Shop: The farmers’ market, No 5 Park Street, JP Oxford, Visit: Blenheim Palace, The Oxfordshire Museum More: experienceoxfordshire.org, wutw.co.ukThe best place to stay
The Feathers Hotel is in the thick of things on Market Street, surrounded by pubs, antiques shops and cafés – and a 12-minute walk to Blenheim Palace. Its history as a 17th-century townhouse is retained in details such as sash windows and open fireplaces.
Bedrooms include snug, beamed-ceiling doubles and spacious suites. Breakfast includes sourdough crumpets with smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. Accessible room available, B&B doubles from £250 a night.
The best places to shop
Time you visit to coincide with the farmers’ marketTime your visit to coincide with the farmers’ market in front of the town hall on the first and third Saturday of the month. Handmade pottery, plants, preserves, cheeses and Indian snacks feature among the dozen or so stalls.
Beyond the market, it is a joy to window-shop in the town’s time-warp streets. The Post Office, newsagents and pharmacy have vintage frontages.
En route to Blenheim from the town hall, No 5 Park Street has shelves stuffed with floaty dresses, stacks of dainty necklaces and wooden doll’s houses.
Antiquers are well served. There’s JP Oxford, a seller of collectables with knick-knacks spilling onto the street; Antiques of Woodstock, a popular stop for period furniture for 40 years; and Antiques at Heritage for pre-40s treasures.
The best local treat
The gelato at Alfonso gathers a crowd on sunny days. Its pastel, tricolour counter and orb-like light fixtures are a Cotswolds take on its founder’s Roman roots, and its window seats are a pleasant spot to linger with a cone of salted caramel or kombucha-flavoured ice cream.
The best things to do and see
Plan for a few hours at Blenheim (Photo: Blenheim Palace)Blenheim Palace is a 10-minute walk from Woodstock’s centre. On a crisp spring morning, with daffodils and snowdrops sprouting and birdsong ringing, a walk through the undulating Capability Brown-designed grounds is enough to pass a couple of hours. Pause on one of the benches by the Great Lake or Queen Pool, take a photo under the cedar of Lebanon tree that featured in a Harry Potter film as the setting for one of Severus Snape’s memories, and get lost in the Marlborough Maze.Take it all in from the mansion’s rooftop platform (open until 19 April).The house will draw Churchill enthusiasts. The former prime minister’s grandfather was the 7th Duke of Marlborough, a descendant of John Churchill, who was gifted the palace in 1705 by Queen Anne after his victory in the Battle of Blenheim.Standout stops include the room in which Winston was born in 1874 and George Stubbs’s painting of a tigress given to the 4th Duke for his menagerie.
In town, The Oxfordshire Museum is an engaging diversion. As well as a collection that tells of local history, there is a spacious garden to spot dinosaur replicas, fossilised footprints and plants from the Mesozoic Era.
Two places for an evening drink
The front room at The Feathers has clear views of the street, ideal for people-watching with a cocktail in hand, such as “The Feathers of Woodstock” (vodka, elderberry and Earl Grey cordial, lemon juice and sparkling wine). The saké and local cider (Cotswolds Cider Co’s No Brainer) are also worth a try.
Veering away from the high street, The Back Lane Tavern is a traditional pub up front with low, beamed ceilings, a huge fireplace and black-and-white pictures of Woodstock on the walls. At the back is an airy restaurant and patio area that’s packed for Sunday roasts.
The best place for dinner
Spend a relaxing evening at The Aviary (Photo: John Scott Blackwell)The Feathers has two options for dinner. Stepping into the low-lit Aviary bar, a 60s-style portrait of a woman in a Louis Vuitton spacesuit pulls focus. There are sourdough pizzas and flatbreads served with dips such as smoked salmon and radish taramasalata.It is a laid-back chaser to a night at The Nest, the hotel’s stylish Michelin-listed dining room where dishes include buttery halibut with marbled sauce and roast cabbage, followed by toasted heather mille-feuille.
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The best spring walk
Another Churchill memorial is a 30-minute walk away, passing through the palace grounds to the village of Bladon. Churchill’s grave is in St Martin’s churchyard. The church is also open to visitors – a stained-glass window was added in 2015 as a memorial to the former Prime Minister. You can make a detour on the way back through a rewilded patch of land by the palace’s on-site accommodation; you may even spot a sparrowhawk hovering overhead.
Three things you might not know about Woodstock…
1) An ancient royal palace stood in what are now Blenheim’s grounds. Elizabeth I was under house arrest there for four months while still a princess from 1554–1555.
2) The Bear hotel, a former 13th-century coaching inn, has hosted prominent figures from Churchill to Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor despite many reports of “hauntings”.
3) At Ashford Close, a building marks where a railway station of the Woodstock to Kidlington Branch Line (used by Blenheim’s dukes) once stood.
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