Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Churchill's Final Resting Place
The small village of Bladon, about 6
1
⁄
2
miles northwest of Oxford and a short
drive from Blenheim Palace, is the final
resting place of Sir Winston Churchill.
Following his state funeral in St. Paul's
Cathedral, Churchill was buried in Bla-
don in January 1965. His relatively
modest grave lies at the
Church of St.
Martin,
a simple Gothic structure rebuilt
in the 1890s. Churchill's white tomb
also contains the remains of his wife,
Clementine, who was buried here in
1977. Other members of the family are
buried nearby, and there is a small
exhibition of photos on Churchill and
the funeral inside the church. To reach
St. Martin's Church (
&
01993/880546
)
from Oxford, take the A44 toward
Woodstock, and then go on the
A4095 toward Whitney.
and inflatable castles for children. Also, be sure to look for the castle's gift shops,
tucked away in an old palace dairy. Here you can purchase a wide range of souvenirs,
handicrafts, and even locally made preserves.
Brighton Rd., Woodstock.
&
08700/602080.
www.blenheimpalace.com. Admission £19 adults (parks
and gardens £11), £15 students and seniors (parks and gardens £8), £11 children 5-15 (parks and gardens
£5.50), and £50 family ticket (parks and gardens £28); free for children 4 and under. Daily 10:30am-
5:30pm. Last admission 4:45pm. Closed mid-Dec-mid-Feb (except for park).
5
THE CHILTERNS
North of the Thames Valley, the Chiltern Hills form a rolling green barrier between
Oxford and the outer suburbs of London. While the hills are not dramatic or espe-
cially big (the highest point is just 267m/876 ft. at Haddington Hill, near Wendover),
it is a protected area harboring
pretty villages,
ancient
beech woodlands,
hand-
some
stately homes,
and
intriguing museums.
The hills are actually part of a
chalk escarpment stretching some 50 miles from Goring-on-Thames in Oxfordshire,
through Buckinghamshire, to Bedfordshire and the edge of East Anglia, but every-
thing is an easy drive or bus ride from London or Oxford.
Essentials
GETTING THERE
To make the most out of this region, you'll need a car, though
all the main towns are connected to London by frequent buses and trains. The Chil-
terns' largest towns are Aylesbury in the north and High Wycombe in the south.
Aylesbury
is 1 hour by train from London's Marylebone Station (£13), or 25 minutes
off the M25 via the A41. Trains to High Wycombe (£11) from London Marylebone
take just 30 minutes.
VISITOR INFORMATION
The
Aylesbury Tourist Information Centre,
Kings
Head Passage, off Market Square (
&
01296/330559;
www.visitbuckinghamshire.
org), is open April through October, Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 5pm, and Novem-
ber through March, Monday to Saturday 10am to 4:30pm. The High Wycombe
Tour-
ist Information Centre
(
&
01494/421892;
www.visitbuckinghamshire.org) is
located inside High Wycombe Library at the Eden Shopping Centre, 5 Eden Place
(near the bus station). It's open Tuesday to Friday 9:30am to 5:30pm, Saturday 9:30am
to 4pm. You should also check out www.chilternsaonb.org and www.chilternsociety.org.
uk for more information.
