UK Part III- Blenheim & Clapton-on-the-Hill

Our second B&B was Clapton Manor. Our hostess, Karin, was a wonderful, cheery, down-to-earth woman who was full of suggestions for what to see, where to eat and anything else. This was great, because we hadn't fully planned what we would do there. This is the gateway into their lovely side yard. We had tea outside in the courtyard our first afternoon. Clapton Manor sits in a tiny little village of Clapton-on-the-Hill. Don't you just love all those descriptive names? As I'm sure you can guess- the village sits on the top of a hill. Everett came to the full realization of this when he went running- every route had him going uphill on the way back.









Our room looked out on one side to the couryard, and on the other side, to the village church here. Karin suggested a drive our first evening that would take us through some of the picturesque surrounding villages, and then a great little pub called the Fox Inn for dinner. By the way, just try searching by the name of a pub in your GPS. You will realize how many pubs are called The Fox, The Horse and Groom, The Horse and Hound, The Horse and Coach, The Coachman, and so forth!

We spent the next day at Blenheim Palace. It is the current home of the Duke of Marlborough and the birthplace of Winston Churchill. So, besides being a beautiful home and garden, it is full of fascinating history. I wish we could have taken pictures inside because it was really spectacular. Though I doubt my pictures would have done it justice.















We toured the palace, which included some very interesting displays about Winston Churchill, walked the gardens and had lunch in the garden. After our late lunch, we finished the gardens with a walk through the hedge maze. Everett is being a human sundial, as his shadow tells us the time.





We headed back to the B&B where Karin had a fire waiting for us in the sitting room and tea and cake! Just what we needed after a long day. We were so refreshed, we did some walking around the village before dinner and came across this red telephone booth. We had passed many like this, and I was so sure I wouldn't get a picture if we didn't stop. But we stumbled upon this one- they really do put them in the most extraordinary places! After our walk we went to dinner at another nearby pub- The King's Head! Too funny!