Dear Members,
On a somewhat dull morning, a group of our members gathered at The Institute for a 9.30 car share start to our walk at Blenheim. Lunch at the Oxfordshire Pantry or coffee in the village were both suggested as delightful endings to our walk, setting us off in high spirits.
We began with a lake-side group photo…
as we set out to walk the outer ring of the grounds, up and down a few nice slopes and over several wet and muddy paths, by-passing lakes tranquil in the morning sunshine…
Pheasants were cackling everywhere and Estate foresters were busy with their chain saws. A pheasant hatchery busy with the morning sounds of its young chicks made this early part of our walk surprisingly noisy. Mary very kindly offered us a “Finger of Fudge” to munch on as we travelled onwards.
We stopped on a bridge for the views, managing to persuade a passing visitor to take a photo of all thirteen of our group, and then I took just a couple more for good measure.
We passed by the rear aspect of Blenheim Palace then onwards to connect with the children’s railway track on whose train, my grandson Freddie, rode on for his 1st birthday picnic outing to Blenheim.
And then our path returned us to Blenheim’s front door and those lady members staying for lunch made their farewells and strode off in pursuit of lunch while three members walked away to find a cup of hot coffee and Enid’s car for the journey home.
A popular and excellent walk with many dog walkers out who, like our group, were revelling in the bright warm mid-morning sunshine which eventually blessed our footsteps through Blenheim’s green and pleasant sheep-strewn pastures and past peaceful lakes on gently sloping pathways.
Our thanks to Mary for a very pleasant morning’s walk around Blenheim Park….
Margaret Halstead xxx