Oxford & Blenheim Palace

Post-exam adventure: days 1 & 2

At the end of every period of stress, people often require a long duration of relaxation before beginning to work again. The majority will generally pursue this through an extended sleep. However for me, I prefer to de-stress through a slightly more active and fun way. 

The Radcliffe Camera, Oxford

Yes that's right. Traveling is my cure.

Window shopping in Oxford

For the first part of my grand 6 day adventure, I decided to travel down to the charming and lively town of Oxford. I'm sure that most of you will have heard about its splendour and spectacles, so I won't go into many details about what I did there (the photos should explain this thoroughly). I did think about going to Bicester Village to shop, but there was more than enough independent retailers for me to buy from in Oxford itself. 

Blenheim Palace (interiors)

The Temple of Diana

In comparison to day 1, the second day matched my passion for exploration much better. Fate led me to the magnificent Blenheim Palace in the historic market town of Woodstock (no relation to Snoopy I believe). Whether you're interested in history or architecture, this palace has it all. As a quick overview of its timeline, the building was originally the birthplace of Winston Churchill. Visiting enables you to learn more about his life and relation to the palace. For example, he proposed to his to-be-wife, Clementine, at the "Temple of Diana" in his garden (and yes I did manage to snap a photo of this fantastic piece of architecture). The interiors of the palace itself can also be explored. I particularly liked The Long Library which houses one of the largest organs in Europe. 

Absolutely aMAZE-ing

The organ in The Long Library

Duck on patrol

Of course no adventure is complete without a bit of outdoorsy fun. For any nature lover, Blenheim Palace's exteriors will completely spoil you. There are acres pure grassland to promenade on, interesting monuments like the Column of Victory, and also the one of the largest hedge mazes in the world to get lost in. You can literally spend a good couple of hours just walking around and breathing in the fresh air (given that the weather is sunny). And if visiting Blenheim Palace is not enough to satisfy your globetrotter spirit, pop down the road to Woodstock village once you're done. There's a variety of quirky shops and cafes to marvel at and photograph. It's a great activity for anyone, especially whilst you wait for the bus to get back to Oxford. 

Heading to the Column of Victory

In the Formal Gardens

Roaming around Woodstock

That's it for Oxfordshire. Come back tomorrow to find out where I headed next on my 6 day post-exam adventure (dun dun dun).

Blenheim Palace (the magnificent exterior)

Ropner Park - Stockton-on-Tees

Alone at last

Signs in Ropner Park

I have to admit, sometimes being alone in life is better than being surrounded by a million others. Of course, living in solitude on a day to day basis is not something we should strive for. But having some “me” or “myself” time every so often does in my opinion make life just slightly more colorful and interesting.

At the Lake

And for me, that essentially involves a walk in the local park.

The beauty of mother nature.

Ropner Park isn’t the biggest park I’ve ever been and certainly not the most glamorous (if you’re ever in Hong Kong, do visit the Botanical Gardens; it’s fab!). As a quick summary, it’s essentially made up of a lake, pavilion and playground, with lots of walking paths and greenery in between. What to me makes it utterly perfect for a day out alone is its peacefulness and daintiness. I don’t think that there was a second where I wanted to swap listening to the sounds of children giggling and ducks quacking with my iphone music whilst I was there. I think I managed to spend nearly two hours walking from each location to another.

The Pavillion

And my are there a lot of ducks.

If you’re a keen photographer, then there’s plenty to take. From flowers to trees, and from ducks to sculptures, Ropner Park offers a wealth of picture-perfect moments and locations, perfect for any professional or even the lone amateur like moi. Words essentially fail me when trying to describe just exactly how truly gorgeous this place is. Give it sometime and you’ll definitely be able to see, for yourself, its true beauty.

The Daisy Trio.

What I think tops it off is the little metal information signs that have been strategically positioned in certain significant areas of the park. It’s great that it offers an opportunity to rejuvenate as well as educating oneself about its history and that of the local area.

The lonely but tranquil pathway - my kind of bliss.

P.S. Don’t forget your camera.
x

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Cragside - Northumberland

Yesterday was the day.
The day that I'd be setting out early to get to a new country house I'd just heard about literally 24 hours before yesterday. Cragside had been the home to the inventor of Lord Armstrong but now is a property of the National Trust and opened to tourists (and dogs!). I'd just gotten my (young persons :D) National Trust membership on Saturday and was desperate to use it to go to properties I'd normally have to pay for had I not joined. I was also looking forward to a good afternoon tea and a nice walk in the garden and house that Cragside had to offer.

Unlike some of the other properties I'd looked up, Cragside was one of those that was accessible via public transport (i.e. a bus). Annoyingly the bus that takes you there, the 508, from Newcastle only comes twice every Sunday until October. There are ways of getting to Cragside on the weekday through public transport as well but it only comes once every hour and wouldn't take you directly up to the entrance; it would stop in the town, Rothbury, which was right next to it. Being on a student budget and the fact that I am not yet qualified to drive (cries*), I had no choice but to take the public transport option. And so the day began at 8:10am, with me scoffing down a quick breakfast and speed clothing changing before hurtling towards the train to get up to Newcastle. On arriving, I quickly headed towards the bus stop, in anticipation of my journey and adventure ahead. Despite the bus coming 15 minutes late and the fact that it would take a little bit less than 2 hours to get to Cragside, I continued to stay cheery in the sudden cold and windy weather. Nothing, I thought to myself, could spoil my day.

 Pretty architecture at Darlington station

The stunning Angel of the North from afar in Gateshead on my way up to Newcastle

Obviously I had some assumptions 
(loads actually) of what Cragside estate would looked like. I'd been to some other properties with a home/ hall and gardens (Walmer Castle and Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens are two on the top of my head, but we'll leave their stories for another day). The house to me looked like a huge version of the house owned by the seven dwarfs in Snow White, and I assumed that I'd be walking through a garden with flowers, shrubs, trees, you know, the usual jazz you'd expect in a garden. I only had 4 hours at Cragside before I was due back on the bus so I'd planned to leave an hour for lunch and the remaining time for the estate. Clearly, I hadn't done enough research prior to my departure. Not only was I amazed at the gorgeous and large lake that awaited me at the entrance to the estate, but I was absolutely flabbergasted  that the entire estate was around 400 hectares big! To top it off, there were around about 100 rooms inside the country house itself, and only 1/3 of it was actually opened to the public!

From this, Cragside doesn't look like a huge place but definitely a nice one....

THIS is what I ended up seeing

It was clear that I'd have to come again

Filled with gardens (yup, not just one), waterfalls, wooden bridges, forest, wildlife, a clock tower, power house etc. (and yes the list does go on), Cragside had me occupied for the entire day; my camera iphone is currently suffering from an overload of visual information. What was also good about the enormity and structure of the estate was that it had you constantly walking on different surfaces (e.g. rocky, flat, sloped, grassy etc.), which was good for someone like me who was literally STUFFED with the delicious treats Cragside's cute tea room had to offer!

The food at Cragside <3

A memorable day definitely, and it was just such a beautiful place to explore and enjoy nature in. Every corner and sight I saw inspired me to come up with a new story, stories of which I would form the basis of my drawings/ fashion illustrations (i.e. my all-time hobby). My aim is to walk on every path the estate has to offer - not at once (obviously), but eventually. But for now my fellow readers, enjoy looking through the pictures of my "big day out" at Cragside. Hopefully, it'll persuade you to come roaming up north to enjoy this glorious gem.

The quirky finds at Cragside...